


Howl

by malafight



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Werewolf AU, i should probably warn up front that this doesn't shy away from gore, i'm going for 'supernatural but actually gay' here if that helps at all, playing fast and loose with medical science, probably slow burn, requisite angst tag, slice of life featuring things trying to kill our heroes, whoops the rating went up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2018-10-19
Packaged: 2018-10-24 03:51:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 26
Words: 68,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10733556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malafight/pseuds/malafight
Summary: Jasper, a werewolf who makes a living collecting the bounties on supernatural beasties who are wreaking havoc on the mundanes, finds herself working with Peridot, a technomancer and ferrokinetic, after a rather rocky start. Will something more develop between the two of them? (Yes. The answer is yes.)





	1. Hot Dog

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I had an explanation for this beyond "I like the concept of Supernatural but I want it gayer" with a dash of "perfect setup for eventual heatfic." I am so sorry.

Jasper was a beast on the hunt, heightened olfactory senses working overtime as she followed the smell of brimstone. She was tracking the movements of a hellhound that had been terrorizing the area; it had already left a solid dozen bodies in its wake, torn to shreds with their wounds cauterized the moment the monster ripped into them.

This particular bounty was a large one, set forth by the local government through a number of shell companies to keep any traces of supernatural dalliance off the books. Willful ignorance kept most of the world unaware of the things that go bump in the night, but a healthy dose of caution was never remiss.

The clatter of desperate activity ahead of her spurred her into action, her tracking mindset shifting immediately to fight as she ran towards the sound, boots beating the pavement beneath her. As she followed the sound of crashing and yelling, the distinct noise of a metal trash can being flung aside, she turned a corner and was almost immediately barreled into by a small, fast-moving figure. Jasper came to a stop; the other woman was knocked flat on her ass.

Jasper’s impression of the woman who hit her stopped at small and blonde, because any further assessment was curtailed by the smaller woman scrambling up and shoving against her again, yelling in a breathless, nasal voice.

“Run! It isn’t safe! I’ll protect you!”

Jasper looked blankly down at her and then just laughed. Jasper was a good two and a half heads taller than her, amazonian and built like a brick shithouse, and yet this tiny creature--

Her laughter was cut short by the appearance of the hellhound as it scrambled its way around a corner. It was just barely smaller than a horse and looked to be made of ever-flowing lava, red and orange and yellow heat beneath moving plates of black, a few gouts of flame springing up from various spots as it closed the distance between them.

As the other woman shoved past her; Jasper drew her machete from its sheath on her hip and readied herself to spring once the damn thing was within range. The smell of brimstone and heat was nearly overwhelming, a blistering assault on her senses. She was poised to leap when the hellhound’s forward motion was suddenly arrested, a two-inch metal pipe seeming to grow out of its volcanic chest.

The hellhound let out a screeching, pained yelp as it was driven backwards, only to change direction abruptly and slam onto the ground with another keening cry. The monster wriggled and whined from where it was pinned to the sidewalk, unable to turn over to right itself with the pipe still embedded in its chest.

The other woman walked up behind Jasper, hands on her hips and a pleased expression on her face, sweat beading up on her forehead.

“See? What did I say. You’re safe now.”

Jasper just laughed again, shaking her head as she walked up next to the trapped hellhound. Her machete swung through the air and the whining stopped abruptly. She wiped her blade on her pants, leaving a streak of cooling volcanic ichor across the knee that she didn’t even seem to notice as she sheathed the machete. She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket to take pictures of the decapitated monster.

“...hello? I saved you? Aren’t you going to thank me?”

“No.”

“No?!” The other woman practically shrieked. “I didn’t kill that weird lava dog thing for your disrespect!”

“Hellhound. And technically I killed it.” Jasper was curt, distracted, taking a video with her phone as the hellhound’s body began to bubble and undulate and sink into the sidewalk, hissing and giving off steam and a truly foul stench that was so much worse than the brimstone scent she’d been tracking on the wind. If the gagging sound the shorter woman made was any indication, it was just as offensive to human olfactory systems as it was to her own.

“What the fuck-”

“That would be sulfur.”

“I know what sulfur smells like and that isn’t--”

“That’s the lovely scent of Hell itself. Now, will you stop whining and scurry on home so I can pick up this bounty? I’ve got a date with a steak dinner.”

The hellhound finished dissolving into the ground, leaving a huge black burn mark on the sidewalk with a heat-twisted green metal pipe sticking out of the cracked concrete.

“Bounty?! There’s a-- wait! I killed it and you’re gonna get paid for it?!”

“I killed it. You stabbed it with a pipe.”

“I saw it first--”

“And yet I’m the one with the proof.”

Jasper was about to stow her phone in her pocket when it was suddenly yanked from her grasp by an unseen hand. It floated in front of her face for a brief second, giving her a chance to grab at it once before it was spirited away and settled into the other woman’s outstretched hand.

“And now I’m the one with the proof.”

“My phone’s locked.”

“Not to me, it isn’t.” The other woman tapped a few times on the screen and then showed off one of the pictures Jasper had taken. “See? All mine now.”

Jasper seemed to grow some as she inhaled, a low growl emanating from her as she stepped forward and swiped her phone back, holding tight to it this time. The smaller woman jumped backwards a bit at the sudden movement.

“Mine again. Fuck off, you pint-sized glory hound.”

“This was my kill!” the tiny woman shrieked, face reddening and screwing up, and before Jasper could do anything else she started to cry, fat tears rolling down her cheeks as sniffling sobs started to wrack her body. “I-I j-just wan’ed t-to s-save people--”

Jasper just. Stopped. Blinked. Sighed, dragging her hand down her face.

“Oh my god. You’re what, fifteen?”

“T-twenty-t-two-”

“You’re too young to throw your life away like this. Go home. Get an education. This job only ends one way.” Jasper’s gruff voice was- almost softer, now, though only barely noticeably. Her expression was certainly softer, more annoyance than anger, like this had become little more than an inconvenience.

Jasper raised her hands up in front of her almost like she was warding off the tears. Her amazonian stature had her towering over the other woman’s tiny form, but Jasper looked like she was trying to shrink some, trying to appear less intimidating.

“Okay, c’mon, stop crying. You helped. I can cut you in for, like, twenty percent, but a wolf’s gotta eat.”

“ _ Twenty percent?! _ ” came the smaller woman’s shrieked, slightly sniffly reply. “I-I lured it out here! I p-pinned it down! You just took off its head once I had it immobilized! I deserve a fair cut!”

Jasper was just shocked for a moment at the sudden change in the woman’s demeanor, tears still on her face but expression far more angry than anything else.

“Well?!” she kept going, apparently completely unintimidated by the woman twice her size, tiny form a little ball of rage and indignation.

Jasper sighed and ran her hand down her face. The reward for this bounty  _ was _ impressively high, in the thousands, but she had gas and food to pay for, and no way to know when the next bounty would come on the market.

“Thirty percent,” she offered, a growl in her voice.

“Fifty,” the smaller woman insisted, an attempt at a growl in her own voice.

“Forty. Max.”

“Fifty and I don’t wipe your phone from here.”

Jasper pulled back a bit as if burned, able to conceal the worry in her expression but still looking rather surprised.

“You can do that?”

“I can hack anything with an operating system, and-” with a few little hand motions, Jasper’s phone wriggled its way out of her pocket. Jasper grabbed at it and held it tight, able to feel the little tugs as it tried to reach the other woman’s hand. “I can move anything made of metal. Don’t mess with me. You’ll regret it.”

Jasper pulled at her errant phone in annoyance, working against the smaller woman’s magic until she realized even her superhuman strength was only managing to keep it from moving further, unable to pull it back.

She sighed.

“Fifty, then. Jesus Christ, you’re a pain.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s Peridot, not Jesus Christ.” The smaller woman– Peridot– smirked at Jasper, finally releasing her hold on the phone. Jasper’s hand moved abruptly towards her chest, and it was only her enhanced reflexes that kept her from stumbling backwards or dropping her phone.

“Well, Peridot,” Jasper sighed. “I’ll send you a check. This one’s a bank transfer.”

“Excuse me?” Peridot said, crossing her arms. “I don’t trust your sketchy ass as far as I can throw you. I’m sticking to you until I get that in cash. How much Is the bounty?”

Jasper sighed again.

“6k.” It was actually 8k, but Peridot didn’t have to know that.

“Jesus Christ.”

“Yeah. This was a rush order since it’s been killing daily for over a week now.” Jasper looked at her phone and started tapping on it, navigating to send in the proof of her completed job and her banking information as she continued speaking. “It might take until tomorrow to get to me. Hope you’re okay with sleeping in a van, because my broke ass can’t afford a hotel room tonight.”

“…oh, I can take care of that. Where do you want to stay? How d’you feel about the five-star downtown?”

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“If you have that kind of money to throw around, why are you losing it over a few thousand dollars?”

Peridot patted the messenger bag on her side.

“I can hack anything. I haven’t paid for a drink from a vending machine since i was eleven.”

Jasper just… stopped and blinked at her for a moment, processing the new information.

“…my van’s a bit of a walk.”

“I’ll live.”

Jasper tucked her phone back in her pocket and touched the hilt of her machete like she was reminding herself it was there.

“Lead the way,” Peridot said, apparently unconcerned with the length of the walk. Jasper sighed and motioned for the smaller woman to follow her as she started heading back to her van.

“So what’s your name?” Peridot asked, walking just behind and a little off to the side of Jasper.

“None of your business.”

“That’s a long name,” Peridot said. Jasper growled and glanced behind her. “If I don’t get your name, I’m just going to call you Asshole.”

Jasper closed her eyes and let a long breath out through her nose.

“Jasper.”

“You smell like dog, Jasper.”

Jasper looked over her shoulder and flashed Peridot a look at gleaming fangs, canines impressively long and sharp for a human.

“For good reason. I’m a werewolf.”

“Whoa- wait- werewolves exist?”

“You just saw a hellhound and you’re wondering if werewolves exist. Yes. We’re real.”

“Do you do the pack thing, with the Alphas and the Omegas and everything?” Jasper groaned and leaned her head back. Someone up there was punishing her for every episode of bad behavior in her entire life.

“Some wolves have packs.”

“But not you.” Peridot sped her steps until she was right next to Jasper. The werewolf looked at her out of the corner of her eye, curling her lip up to reveal a fang again.

“Not me. Packs don’t like bitter wolves with bad attitudes. And I don’t like being treated like I’m sub-human.”

“So the Alpha and Omega thing is real?”

“No.” Jasper was firm in that. “It’s bullshit.”

Peridot sighed.

“There goes my A/B/O fanfiction.”

“Your what?”

Peridot’s face brightened as she launched into an eager tirade that Jasper tried her best to ignore but found impossible with the speed and volume of the smaller woman’s yammering.

“So A/B/O fanfiction, or Omegaverse, is like people with wolf pack dynamics. There are Alphas, Betas, and Omegas. The Alphas are the leaders and the high-ranking people, and they can mate Betas or Omegas. The Omegas are the lowest-ranking and they can be bred by Alphas or Betas, and Betas are in the middle and can be bred by Alphas or mate with Omegas. There’s a hierarchal social structure built around these castes, and there can be some fics that explore the sociology of the structure, but there are just as many if not more smut fics, including fun stuff like...”

Jasper was sufficiently confused, but she stayed silent and rather sullen instead of giving Peridot any fuel for further conversation.

“...and my OTP, Percierre, would make for a really great Omegaverse fic! I’ve always wanted to try one out, and if I could study real werewolf lifestyles it would add so much more life to the story!”

“Told you it didn’t work that way…” Jasper grumbled under her breath. Peridot didn’t seem to hear her.

“I know everyone would expect Pierre to be an Alpha, because he’s just such a brute, so powerful and in control, but I think he’d make an even better Omega! It would be so revolutionary!”

Jasper sighed and picked up her pace, hoping her van would come into view and save her this indignity.

“And everyone would expect Percy as the Omega because he’s the smaller of the two– Pierre’s got like half a head on him– but he’s also driven and a great leader, he’d make such a great Alpha! And when Pierre goes into- mmf!”

Jasper clapped a hand over Peridot’s mouth, muffling the smaller woman’s words, and sniffing at the air.

She smelled sulfur.

Peridot ripped Jasper’s hand away and gasped a deep breath in like she was about to release another tirade, but Jasper’s expression stopped her in her tracks.

Jasper raised her head and took in a deep breath before drawing her machete and looking around, trying to pinpoint the source of the scent, growing agitated and beginning to breathe quicker.

“Jasper?” Peridot asked in a stage whisper, apparently unable to actually lower her voice any more.

“Sulfur,” Jasper grunted. “Could be a demon, could be another hellhound.”

“Demons are real?” Peridot continued in that same stage whisper. Jasper just glared at her, and for once she actually fell silent, looking around worriedly and holding her bag against her side.

Jasper huffed in little breaths still, amber gaze darting around the empty street, slightly-pointed ears straining to hear any telltale sounds of fire crackling or claws tapping the concrete.

The smell was getting stronger, and quickly. Jasper turned around; the smell was strongest behind them. They were being hunted.

She took a breath in and suddenly the scent was overwhelming; it was the only warning she got before her entire range of vision became red and black and shimmering heat and time seemed to slow down.

The hellhound crushed her to the sidewalk, knocking the breath out of her chest and the machete out of her hand. She whipped her hands up to grab at the monster’s snapping jaws before they closed over her head.

Her hands and clothing sizzled where she was in contact with the burning beast and she couldn’t help but let out a pained roar, holding the volcanic jaws just short of her face.

She could smell the hellhound’s acrid breath, feel its heat on her face,. She could smell the burning flesh of her hands, the pain brief and extreme before her nerves burned off millimeter by agonizing millimeter.

The hellhound tore at her torso, ripping her shirt and dragging burning cuts down her belly. Jasper’s roars never stopped, pain and anger driving her.

She finally managed to bring a leg up and heft a kick into the beast’s gut, her superhuman strength enough to send it yelping and scrambling back. She winced as she pushed herself up, grabbed her machete with another wince at the painful burns on her hand, and time finally seemed to speed back up.

Jasper leapt forward with a roar and met the beast in the middle, left arm up to catch its teeth, right bringing the machete up to gut it. She could feel the wolf inside her rising, a mist of dark red tugging at the edges of her vision, pain and anger and her instinct to  _ survive _ driving her on. A gush of volcanic ichor covered the ground and Jasper’s boots as she drove the machete home, the hellhound’s teeth still shredding her left forearm, leaving blackened and smoking skin and bone in its wake.

She could feel the itch of fur growing and teeth sharpening as the red mist spread further into her vision, the wolf desperately trying to take over and fight for her life as the hellhound continued to ravage her arm despite its guts splattered across the sidewalk. She snarled and pushed the great beast away, swinging her machete as it stumbled back on two legs, only to see the glint of metal in the streetlight and find the head she was going to cut off no longer attached to the hellhound’s body.

The hellhound collapsed to the sidewalk and Jasper’s machete fell from numb fingers shortly after. For a few long moments she just panted raggedly and stared at the hellhound’s body, fighting back the wolf inside until she was no longer trembling with the effort of her internal battle.

Another flash of metal drew her attention and she jerked her head around to look at it, movements stilted and still a bit feral as she fought down the last of her wilder half.

It was Peridot. The smaller woman had her hand out, a small disc of metal still circling over it.

“I think I earned that fifty percent now,” She said, smug. Her expression changed abruptly once Jasper turned more towards her, body a mass of burned, blackened scratches and bites; Peridot gagged and looked away. “Wh-what the fuck-”

“Shit happens,” Jasper panted. “I’ll get better.”

Peridot still wouldn’t look at Jasper as she formed the disc back into what looked like an attempt at a soda can. Jasper just picked up her machete in a hand that could hardly move, hissing soft little pained sounds as she carefully, jerkily wiped it on one of the only clean, unburnt parts of her pants and then sheathed it, its magic the only thing that kept it from melting under the heat of the hellhound’s blood and guts.

She looked down to assess the damage, her clothes a total loss and the fat of her belly covered in burned scratches. Her legs had been clawed up some as well, and her boots were halfway melted out from the falling ichor. It was her arm and hands that suffered the most; she could hardly feel anything below her left elbow and right wrist, and what she did feel if she moved was sharp, burning  _ pain _ .

“You’ll get better?” Peridot asked meekly, still not looking at Jasper. The werewolf turned away from the bubbling mess of hellhound and started walking again, still rather stilted and growly.

“Yeah. If it doesn’t kill me outright, I’ll get better. I give this…” she looked at her mangled arm and burned hands. “...two, three days. Regrowing nerves is a bitch and a half and it’s gonna hurt like hell, but I’ll get better.”

Peridot caught up and glanced over at Jasper, shuddering at the sight of all the damage before looking away again.

“This happen often?”

“Wasn’t kidding when I said this job only ends one way, shortstack.”

Peridot was quiet, falling a bit behind Jasper despite the werewolf’s slower pace. Jasper looked over her shoulder, exhaustion showing in her face, to make sure she was still following. Peridot caught back up after a moment, still just the slightest bit behind as if she was trying not to get any sort of view of Jasper’s mangled body.

“...wasn’t it easier when I had it pinned?” she asked. Peridot’s voice sounded wary, like she was trying to hold her words close to her chest out of fear of having them struck down. “Maybe I can help you more.”

Jasper was quiet as she processed the question. The first kill  _ was _ much cleaner, smoother, and less painful than the second. She hated to admit it, but Peridot really  _ could _ be an asset. And if she could get them into hotels, it might be worth splitting future bounties just to make things easier on her…

“I’ll…” She grunted and sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

Jasper stopped once her van came into view and sighed in relief.

“Here it is. Home sweet home.”

“Are you planning on driving that?” Peridot asked.

“Well, it  _ is _ my van, and we  _ are _ going to a hotel. So yes. I am going to drive that.”

Peridot  had to jump a bit to smack Jasper on the back of the head, but the werewolf was so shocked at the gesture that she cringed and froze up for a moment, blinking dumbly and giving Peridot a chance to speak.

“You can hardly move your hands! I’m driving. Give me the keys.”

“I-”

“No, Jasper. Shut the fuck up and give me the keys, you are not getting us both killed.”

Jasper, surprised and speechless, pointed at the small bundle of keys and keychains clipped to one of her belt loops. Peridot snatched it up and headed to the driver’s side. Jasper was still a bit too shocked to do anything but fumble at the passenger’s side door and slide into her own van.

This was going to be… interesting.


	2. Hot Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper dissociates for a while and Peridot gets them a hotel room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no guarantees about updates happening this regularly but I have enough downtime at work to do a considerable amount of writing so hey, who knows.

Peridot didn’t stop talking as she drove the both of them to whatever hotel she’d decided they were going to stay at. Jasper wasn’t really paying attention to what she was saying, this time, her whole consciousness taken up with the pain of slowly regrowing the nerves in her hands and body. It was little, sudden spikes of pain one after the other, flickers of fire through her whole body as her skin and bone started mending itself. She was in a daze, focusing on the way her healing felt just to ground herself despite the way it was a near-constant stream of needle-sharp pain as her nerves flared and fired, causing her to grunt or hiss every so often.

Peridot seemed to be taking those sounds as encouragement to continue. Her voice was unobtrusive, at least, prattling on about nothing Jasper could grasp.

The van jerked to a stop and Jasper let out another grunt at the sudden motion, awareness of her surroundings creeping in slowly. She had to fumble with the door a few times before she could will her hand to function enough to open it, but she slipped off the seat and thumped to the ground with an almost growling sound.

She followed Peridot into the hotel, noting dully that it seemed to be a very  _ nice _ hotel.

Peridot approached the front desk and rested her hand on the monitor, pose a bit ungainly as she spoke to the concierge. Jasper didn’t know what she was saying and didn’t really care as she looked dully around the classy, open floorplan of this Very Fine Hotel.

She wasn’t paying attention to anything, really, save her body’s anger at how she let herself get so ripped up, so when Peridot tugged on her sleeve she actually jumped a bit.

“C’mon. Third floor. Get you out of sight before you scare any more guests. You look disgusting.”

Jasper just grunted at that, uninterested in putting forth the effort for a sassy response.

She was still dazed as she took the elevator and followed Peridot to the room, but once she was inside and sitting on the edge of one of the beds, her mind started to clear, finally able to calm completely and focus.

“Got a bag in my van,” she growled. Peridot looked over at her, confused. She continued, still using as few words as she could get away with, all gruff and growly and low. “Black duffel bag. Behind the front seat. Clothes.”

She made a little motion towards the bathroom.

“Bring it. Gonna shower.”

Peridot nodded, startlingly quiet for once, and headed out the door. Jasper sighed heavily, whole body aching from her injuries and the exhaustion that had set in once her adrenaline rush had worn off.

Burns were officially the most painful injury she’d healed through before. Her body’s healing fighting through the cauterized wounds was a constant source of itchiness and the needle-sharp pain of nerve after nerve regrowing and reconnecting.

She stood with a heavy sigh and a little groan, wanting to stretch but not wanting to deal with the pain it would cause tugging on the gouge marks on her belly. It took her a few tries to get her fingers to move enough to undo her belt and drop the machete and her little belt pouches to the bed behind her, hand movements jerky and pained. Next was her phone, then she groaned softly as she moved to undo the blessed beretta she kept strapped to her thigh, disappointed to find part of the bottom strap burned through.

She bent down with another pained sound to pull the knife out of each mangled boot and toss them onto the bed with everything else. One of them was partially melted at the tip and would need to be replaced.

She just stood at the foot of the bed for a while, staring dumbly at the wall and trying to make her way back to full alertness, but she was just  _ exhausted _ already from the adrenaline crash and her body beginning to heal her wounds.

Maybe Peridot could hack them some room service or something.

Almost as if thinking of the smaller woman summoned her, the door beeped and Peridot stepped in lugging a black duffel bag.

“Here’s your bag. Your van is a filthy mess inside, I hope you realize that. You really need to work on keeping it clean if you _ live out of it. _ And how many weapons does one person need? You’ve got an arsenal in there! What kind of war are you planning on starting?”

Jasper just grunted and reached for the bag. Peridot stepped back.

“Seriously, I’ve never seen so many weapons in one place before. Can you use all of them?”

“Yes,” Jasper grunted. “Give me the bag.”

Peridot surrendered the bag with a sigh and Jasper winced as she grabbed it in one barely-working hand, heading for the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, she got the water running and then started to peel off her mangled clothes. First her shirt and sports bra, the both of them covered in burns and holes, and then her shoes, socks, pants, and boxer briefs. Not a single scrap of her clothing had survived unscathed.

When she got under the hot water, she flinched and hissed at the pain as it began flowing over each and every painful cut and burn on her body. But the sharp, stabbing pain of regrowing nerves turned into the dull, throbbing pain of hot water over burns, and it was a bit more bearable.

Jasper let out a sigh and started to relax a bit, letting the water run over her sore body while her thoughts floated just outside of her. There was still a dull roar in her ears and a bit of what felt like static in her brain, but she was slowly becoming more and more aware, senses sharpening back to their usual finely-honed edges.

Unfortunately, it made the pain that much more obvious. She was used to having to deal with the pain and itch of healing, but this encounter was especially harrowing for her. Hellhounds were ridiculously hard to deal with at close range, with the waves of heat rippling off of them and their sharp, molten teeth able to strike at anything within reach.

And after seeing all that, Peridot still offered to help her. She wasn’t sure if that was because the younger woman was naive or suicidal, but the thought of having someone who could, for example, immobilize a target as dangerous as a hellhound was enticing, for sure.

But she was just a  _ kid _ . And only human. She wouldn’t be able to take a hit well at all, and Jasper wasn’t sure she could handle the thought of being responsible for letting someone so young get killed.

Jasper let out a sigh and rolled her shoulders, paying attention to the tug of tired muscles to take her mind briefly away from the thought of Peridot dying.

And there was the matter of splitting bounties. Peridot would demand an even split… but then, with her hacking skills able to get them into hotels, that might even out anyway…

But if Peridot could just hack anything like she says, she should be able to get as much money as she could possibly want, right? So why would she even need the bounties?

Jasper sighed. She  _ had _ said she just wanted to help people… did Peridot have some kind of martyr complex? Did she think she was some kind of superhero?

Naivete would kill you faster than a monster out there any day.

But then, after getting a taste… who’s to say Peridot wouldn’t just go off on her own and start trying to collect her own bounties? Or worse, stroke her hero complex.

Jasper didn’t want _ that  _ on her conscience. Someone had to make sure the dumb kid didn’t get herself killed. She just groaned under the water, this time in pre-emptive regret over her decision instead of the pain that was still burning dully through her body.

Her hand moved a bit better to turn the water off, this time, but her motions were still jerky and stilted thanks to the burns. Grabbing the towel to dry off was sensory hell, half-formed nerves firing off frantically at the soft terrycloth, but she managed to dry off for the most part. She was used to pain. That didn’t make it  _ better _ , but she could work through it.

Dressing was a hassle, but she managed to do it. She didn’t have a backup pair of boots, though, so she was barefoot as she made her way out of the bathroom, steam still following her out.

Peridot had set up camp on the other bed, laptop out in front of her and tapping away. Jasper checked on her weapons on the bed and was surprised to find the melted knife returned to its former glory, just as sharp as it had been the day she bought it.

She looked over at Peridot, lifting the knife a bit.

“Did you do this?”

Peridot looked up and nodded.

“Figured I’d help however I could. Metal, I can do.”

Jasper started moving all of her weapons to the dresser in careful, but still shaky, motions. She was quiet, still thinking, still trying to figure out how exactly she’d  _ tell _ Peridot about maybe, just maybe, partnering up. If only to keep her from going solo and getting killed.

“You’re welcome,” Peridot said, frowning. Jasper jumped a bit, pulled from inside her own head by Peridot’s annoyed words.

“Oh- uh, thanks.” She was still a bit distracted, still exhausted, as she melted down onto the bed with a soft, breathy groan, staring up at the ceiling for a brief few moments before closing her eyes.

“Room service?”

“Yeah, what about it?” Peridot asked.

“Can you hack it?”

She couldn’t see Peridot’s response, but from the way the feeling in the room changed, it must not have been positive.

“You have a very interesting understanding of hacking. Can I get us room service for free? Yes. Can I hack an actual human being? No.”

“I’m hungry,” Jasper said, her eyes still closed and her voice gruff. She didn’t like lying on her back, but her sides or belly would be pure agony until she healed more.

“Hi Hungry, I’m Peridot.” The smaller woman snorted at her awful, awful joke, and Jasper opened one eye to frown at her. Nonetheless, she saw Peridot grab the TV remote and the provided wireless keyboard.

She closed her eyes again, focusing on senses that were  _ not _ the pain of touch. She could hear Peridot’s every movement, the brush of fabric on fabric and the tapping of plastic. The TV was playing some kind of pleasant, soft music.

“What do you want to eat?” Peridot asked.

“A rare steak and my weight in mashed potatoes,” Jasper growled, stringing together more words than she’d uttered at once in the past hour.

“Okay, steak and potatoes it is.” Peridot said, but then paused. “How are you planning on eating that when you can barely move your hands?”

Jasper made a dismissive motion with her hand in the air.

“I’ll figure something out.”

“I’m not feeding you.”

“I can take care of myself, Christ.”

“I told you, my name’s Peridot.”

Jasper dropped her hand back to the bed and winced at the spike of pain it sent through her.

“Need protein ‘n carbs to heal,” she grunted. “Sleep too.”

“How would you have even taken care of yourself without me here?”

“Done it before,” she mumbled, starting to zone out just a bit as sleep tugged at the corners of her consciousness. “Can do it again.”

“So you’ve actually gotten mauled and then just slept it off, all on your own?”

“Yeah. Gonna order the food?”

“Already did. Took like, two seconds. Seriously though, this is  _ normal _ for you?”

“Pretty much,” her voice was low, breathy, relaxing as best she can with her body hurting the way it did. One day she wouldn’t be able to sleep it off, but today was not that day.

“…Jasper, that’s horrifying.”

“It’s a living.”

The air between them was silent, and Jasper could almost feel Peridot’s gaze on her. At least she seemed to have gotten over her squeamishness from before.

“You need help.”

“So I’ve heard. I don’t do shrinks.”

“No, I mean… help killing bad… stuff. We worked well together for that first hellhound, and we didn’t even know each other!”

Jasper grunted and sighed.

“I know.”

“So why don’t you let me help you? We can work together.”

Jasper let out a growly little sigh. She had already made her decision, but the thought that she’d have to be responsible for another person’s safety was still… unsettling. If Peridot died under her care…

“Are you afraid to die?”

“I want to help people.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“…I don’t know.” Peridot’s voice was soft and small at that, but she spoke with conviction when she raised her voice next. “But does it matter? I want to adventure, to help save people! I want to see the country!”

Jasper opened an eye to glare at her.

“Naivete will get you killed.”

“I can do it!” Peridot insisted.

“Fine. I’ll give you a month. If you can do the job for a month and still want to save the world, you can stick around.”

Peridot gasped in an excited breath and Jasper saw a grin spread wide across Peridot’s face.

She already regretted this.

“Thank you!! Thank you! While you eat and rest I’ll head to my house and pick up my stuff!!”

Peridot had all the energy and glee of a child told they were going to Disney World.

She was going to get them both killed.

Why had Jasper agreed to this, again?

The food arrived and Peridot disappeared out the door after. Jasper was grateful that Peridot didn’t stick around to watch her eat, because her attempts were pathetic and painful.

But she did eat her fill– it was quite tasty– and collapsed back on the bed, satisfied. She still hurt; she was going to hurt until her nerves were done reforming. But she was still  _ exhausted, _ and exhaustion won out as she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

She woke up abruptly to the beep of the door, body jerking a bit before she realized that she was somewhere safe and relaxed as best she could. She shifted and struggled up into a sitting position as Peridot walked in.

The smaller woman had a backpack, her messenger bag, and a duffel bag all slung across her body, as well as a rolled-up blanket and what looked like a plastic bag from a hardware store. She dumped everything on the other bed with an exhausted sigh.

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“Just the essentials?”

“Listen, miss “I could arm a small militia,” You may be content wearing two sets of clothes to leave room for your guns and knives, but I have like eleven fandom t-shirts that I refuse to give up.”

Jasper was just. Quiet for a moment, before she indicated the plastic bag with a tilt of her head.

“Gonna build a deck, too?”

“What? No,” Peridot started, a bit confused for a moment before she looked at the bag and let out a little  _ oh. _ She dug into the bag and carefully pulled out two sawblades just a bit bigger than her hands. “Weapons!”

She held each one out on an upturned hand, where they floated just above her palms and started spinning lazily, picking up speed moment by moment as Peridot concentrated.

She whipped it around the room and Jasper’s quick reflexes were the only reason she wasn’t missing a couple inches off the top, ducking as a sawblade whizzed overhead and only barely missed her.

“Outside! Practice this  _ outside–! _ ”

“S-sorry ! These are- heavier- oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck-”

Both sawblades buried in the wall above Jasper’s bed and Jasper sighed and fell back onto the bed again.

“You’re a menace.”

“I’ll get better!”

“If you get me killed I swear to whatever deity is listening that I will personally hunt you down and haunt you until you die too.”

Peridot motioned for the blades and they popped out of the wall, floating almost meekly over to Peridot again and falling onto her outstretched hand.

“I’m used to lighter stuff when I need precision. I just need practice.”

“Practice. Out. Side. Far away from me.”

“I will, I will,” Peridot grumbled. Jasper let out a long, slow sigh.

“But it’s a good start. Just… be careful.”

Peridot nodded with a little affirmative noise.

“So we’re a team now?”

“Against my better judgement, yes. I’ve got to make sure you don’t get yourself killed.”

“Says the wolf recovering from multiple burns and lacerations.”

“I’m not dead, am I? That’s a win in my book.”

Peridot started rummaging around in her stuff while Jasper relaxed again with a deep sigh. Her mind was clearer now that she’d had a chance to eat and rest, though the pain was still lancing through her as she healed. She was still tired, still achy, but improving already. She still had a while longer before pain became the incessant itch of skin knitting back together properly, but it was a start.

She raised her lighter hand over her face to see the burns as they healed, still able to see a bit of bone not quite re-covered by skin yet.

The scars from this fight were going to be awful, but she was used to getting looks already, with her skin patched lighter in places. Scars on her arms would just add another reason to look. She’d live. She could live through anything.

Hopefully that included teaming up with Peridot.


	3. Motherfucker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot's first job has a slow start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to set these up as "monster of the week" stories in two parts so I hope this works.
> 
> (Also: if it looks like a Leverage reference, it's probably a Leverage reference.)

“Another fucking chupacabra,” Jasper groaned as she looked at her phone. “But at this point, I’ll take anything.”

They had been staying at the hotel for two days now while Jasper healed up, the werewolf growing more and more agitated about staying in one place for so long without actively seeking out a bounty. She was going stir-crazy.

Peridot had gotten her to watch some of that show she kept yammering on about, though, and it was a brief and occasional reprieve from lying on the bed staring at the ceiling while her body knit itself back together.

“What’s so bad about chupacabras?” Peridot asked, looking up from her laptop.

“They’re small time. Five hundred, max, and they’re vicious little devils. I’ve taken down three myself, and it’s really not worth the trouble. But my contact hasn’t gotten anything new in a few days and at this point I’ll take anything.”

“Aren’t they… like… in Mexico and stuff?”

“And Texas. And Arizona. New Mexico. California. That’s where they’re around the most, but they’ve even been reported in places like Russia. No idea how their hairless asses could  _ survive _ in Russia, but they’re there, apparently. This one’s in Juan, Arizona.”

Peridot set her laptop aside and leaned forward a bit, interest in her expression.

“And you’ve taken them out before? What’s it like?”

Jasper relaxed back on the bed, sighing through her nose and letting her phone fall to the sheets next to her.

“They’re fast and annoying and will tear you to shreds. Sometimes they run in packs. And they smell  _ vile. _ ”

“What does it take to kill them? Silver bullet?”

“I find that most things tend to stop trying to kill you once they are no longer in possession of a head.”

“Ah.”

Peridot was quiet for a little while, like she was processing the information, but then she spoke back up.

“So what sort of things have you hunted?”

“Mostly beasts on the loose, with a few magic-using humans. One vampire.”

“Vampires are real?”

“Peridot I swear to God if you keep asking me if things are real…”

Peridot fell grumpily silent and tapped away on her laptop for a little while before she started a little like she’d gotten an idea.

“How do you get your information?”

“I have a contact who texts me with new bounties,” Jasper said, eyes closed.

“…there have to be better ways than that. There’s got to be some kind of online community or  _ something. _ ”

“I don’t own a computer, just a phone.”

Jasper opened one eye at the silence, seeing that Peridot had returned her attention to her laptop. The plastic tapping started up again shortly after.

“There have to be underground message boards or  _ something. _ You can’t all be neanderthals.”

“I  _ have _ a smartphone,” Jasper said, offended.

“Jasper, six-year-olds have smartphones.”

Jasper fell into a sullen silence with a  _ hmph. _ Peridot grew silent as well, one hand on her laptop and her eyes closed until she let out a little shout of victory. Jasper jumped and ended up spread-eagle on the bed with her heart beating far too fast from the shock.

“Praise the dark web, I’ve found a forum!”

“Don’t  _ do _ that!” Jasper panted.

Peridot didn’t apologize, apparently too excited for such mundane niceties.

“There are bounties being posted, as well as weird happenings that could need our attention! We can use this!”

She started focusing on her laptop again, returning to regular browsing actions. Jasper pushed herself up into a sitting position with a groan and watched the smaller woman work, a grumpy look on her face.

“We have the chupacabra job, then we can go looking for more. I want to start you off on something easy.”

“There’s what looks like a… blood mage? In a little border town in Arizona-”

“What’s the pay?”

“It’s just an alert posting. No bounty.”

“Waste of my time, then.”

Peridot straightened up and frowned at Jasper.

“People might need our help!”

“And we need money to live, shortstack. We’re doing the chupacabra job. Pack your stuff.”

“You’re still healing!”

“I’m  _ fine. _ ” Her hands were scarring over in a few places, and her nerves were still occasionally firing angrily, but she could move perfectly fine. She was back to fighting fit, and she’d be in top shape in less than a day. “I thought you wanted to help people, anyway.”

“I do!”

“We’re helping people who can pay for it,” Jasper growled as she pushed herself off the bed and stood.

“You’re heartless.”

Jasper glared at Peridot, intense amber gaze making the smaller woman shrink just a bit.

“I’m practical. Get packing.”

The ride down to Juan started out quiet, Peridot still sullen and sulking from Jasper’s denying her the pleasure of being a hero. Jasper seemed perfectly content with listening to the classic rock station on her satellite radio, but Peridot got restless after a few hours of grinding on her 3DS.

“So how long have you been doing this?” She asked. Jasper glanced over at her.

“Long enough.”

Peridot frowned and wrinkled her nose.

“How old even  _ are _ you?”

“Twenty-eight.”

“You’re not much older than me!” Peridot’s voice was high and indignant. “You keep acting like I’m so much younger than you, but you might as well be a kid, too!”

Jasper just shrugged.

“I’ve been through some shit, shortstack.”

“So tell me some stories.”

“Nope. Don’t want you getting any heroic ideas.”

“This whole “Batman, mysterious and grouchy” thing doesn’t work for you.”

“Really? I think I’m doing well.”

A little smile pulled at Jasper’s lips, the first vaguely amused expression she’d shown in days. She wasn’t sure if Peridot noticed, but she didn’t much care. Peridot’s energy was pleasant as long as it didn’t involve sawblades trying to behead her.

Peridot just rolled her eyes and settled back, bringing her feet up to rest on the dashboard. Jasper glanced over at the movement and let her stay; as much as her van’s been through, what’s another scuff or two?

“Do you do anything for fun?” Peridot asked. Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“What is this ‘fun’ of which you speak?”

“C’mon, everyone’s gotta do something for fun. Do you just sit in your van and seductively polish your weapons or something?”

Jasper glanced over just in time to see Peridot’s face turn bright red and her eyes widen a bit.

“Phone games,” Jasper said, eyes back on the road. “At least, when my hands can move well enough to play them. It’s a little hard when they’re as big as mine are, though.” She paused and actually laughed; Peridot looked rather surprised at that, her blush still not receding. “Since my hands have been healing, I’ve missed my kitties.”

Peridot snorted.

“Didn’t peg you for a cat person!”

“Of course not. I’m a dog person.” Jasper flashed a dumb grin at Peridot, who snorted again, starting to giggle. “See? I can lighten up.”

“That was  _ terrible. _ ”

“And yet, you still laughed.”

Jasper had a little smile on her face as she drove, the sun starting to set and paint the sky in shades of orange and purple.

“We’re not gonna make it to Juan until after dark,” she thought out loud. It was a rather obvious observation, but nonetheless she felt like she should let Peridot know. “You gonna find a hotel on the way or take care of it when we get there?”

“I checked earlier. Juan’s so small it only has one place to stay, the Juan Motor Hotel, boasting such amenities as color television and a microwave in every room. It doesn’t even have a website, just a single review on Google saying they have a stuffed armadillo on the front desk.”

“So…”

“So we’re paying in cash because they need all the help they can get.”

“Altruistic of you. And which of us is paying for that?”

“Ha, ha,” Peridot said sarcastically. “I’ll take this one, you get the next.”

Jasper shrugged.

“Fair enough.”

“Wait, no grumbling? Dost thou have a heart?”

“No, I just don’t want to deal with you pitching a fit. I still don’t see why you can’t just sleep in the van.”

“Because it smells like dog. Did you even shower before you met me?”

“Ha. Truck stops have showers, darling.” Jasper glanced over again to see Peridot making a face. “They’re cleaner than you think, calm down.”

“Still… all those gross sweaty men. Ugh.”

Jasper just huffed a little breath of laughter at that, shaking her head.

They pulled into the Juan Motor Hotel sometime around eleven. Jasper found herself sitting on an uncomfortable bed, scrolling through her phone for whatever information she could gather regarding the recent string of sheep exsanguinations in the city. Peridot seemed to be having more luck with her laptop and whatever weird mental hacking skill she used.

Jasper said they’d talked to the farmers in the morning for more information. Peridot insisted on the bed nearest the door, and Jasper waved a hand absently, not wanting to argue.

Jasper fell asleep quickly, quite exhausted from driving, and proceeded to have a dream about driving  _ more. _

She woke with a little jump, opening her eyes into darkness and glancing over at the glowing clock. It was around 2am, and it took her a few moments to realize the room was completely silent.

She couldn’t hear Peridot sleeping.

Her nostrils flared as she sniffed the air, noting that the smell of Peridot was older, the smaller woman without question no longer in the room.

She sincerely hoped that did not mean what she thought it meant.


	4. Goatsucker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper goes to find Peridot and things get a little out of paw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is late, life intervened. I can't guarantee a daily update but I'll do my best okay ;w; love you guys

Following Peridot’s scent was harder than expected; with no moisture in the air, there was nothing for the scent to cling to. It was frustrating, to say the least, but nothing she couldn’t handle. Just slower than she would have liked. She could only manage moving at a brisk walk as she followed Peridot’s trail towards the outskirts of the city, little more than ten minutes’ walk from the motel, at least.

That dumb ass brat went off on her own to take care of the chupacabra, either to prove something or to take the bounty all for herself. That was the only possible explanation for what she’d done, and why. That idiot was going to get herself killed if she kept this up -- while this job was a simple one, going after something more dangerous on her own would end her heroic adventures before they even started.

Luckily, this bounty was something that wasn’t particularly dangerous as long as you knew what you were doing. But then… Peridot didn’t have a clue. She’d gotten awfully lucky with that first hellhound. And the second. And she hadn’t really had much time to get used to those blades, either...

She reached the first field of sheep and paused, able to smell Peridot a bit better here, like she’d been here very recently. She could pick out the scent even among the smell of sheep and blood, and one last thing that it took her a few moments to recognize.

Chupacabra.

Fuck.

The smell was strong, and as she followed it she came upon a body the size of a large housecat, with the detached head less than a foot away. It was a mottled grayish-green color, mostly hairless, with batlike ears and a canine snout and clawed feet that looked far too big for its body.

And that’s approximately when she realized that Peridot had gotten herself into trouble. Because that little beauty was a fucking  _ baby _ . Which meant there was the momma and the rest of the litter to deal with, and nesting chupacabras were ten times as vicious.

There were tracks in the blood pooling around the baby chupacabra; there had been at least two of them. The second must have fled, and Peridot had to have followed, since she hadn’t shown back up in the motel room--

Jasper sucked in a great breath of air and turned to follow Peridot’s scent again, picking up her pace and pinpointing the most likely place that she’d be headed: into the rocky outcroppings on the horizon. She couldn’t see Peridot anywhere in the meager moonlight, so she was either in the rocks or dead on the ground.

And she much preferred the former option.

She covered the landscape in quick steps, walking, then jogging, then setting off at a dead run, covering the scrubland with long, loping strides. She bounded off of rocks and over plants with ease until she reached the huge rock pile.

Even with the hot, dry air, the scent of chupacabra was overwhelming. It was absolutely vile, like fermented fish guts and decay.

Peridot was back against a sheer rock face with two chupacabras the size of large dogs and another four smaller ones circling her, tufted tails lashing. Her expression was fearful as she looked between them rapidly, sawblades nowhere to be seen.

Jasper could see one of the larger ones crouching to pounce, but she leapt first, almost instinctively.

A hulking red wolf landed between Peridot and the chupacabras, kicking up a shower of dirt and rock as she swung around to face the beasts. Jasper made for an impressive wolf, fur the color of red clay with lighter patches in places and a thicker mane, hackles raised and teeth bared in a snarl as she put herself between Peridot and danger.

She was upon the biggest of the chupacabras in an instant, snarling even as her teeth sank into its neck and she flung it aside, focusing next on the other adult and ramming into it with a grunt.

A pup sank its teeth into one of her back legs and she snarled, kicked, sending it rolling back with the squeal of a pained puppy. The others piled upon her flanks, teeth and claws mostly rebuffed by her fur but still painful, still cutting.

She let out a pained sound as the larger one barreled into her, sending her stumbling aside, her attention drawn by her attacker as she snarled and snapped at it, the chupacabra too fast for her. The other hit her while she was distracted and she could feel sharp fangs tearing into her shoulder despite the thicker fur there.

Her consciousness started to fuzz, red tugging at the edges again. Her thoughts and movements sharpened, instinctive.

A kick and a leap had the pups off. Teeth sank into the largest beast’s neck. A gush of blood, dark, vile on her tongue. She didn’t let go.

The other worked at her shoulder and side. Claws and fangs in her fur and flesh. Pain, but bearable. The first struggled under her grip, but her teeth were strong. Sharp.

A whip of her head and the two adults met. They yelped, shrieked, and returned. Teeth buried in her side, claws tearing into her.

How  _ dare _ they.

It was a cacophony of sounds. Snarls and yelps and whines. A headbutt and she was free, briefly.

Her attention fell on the young. Small, weak, but still strong enough to hurt. She grabbed one, shook her head. Its limp body fell to the dirt. She snarled as the largest was on her again. The skin of her shoulder was torn; it hung loose and bleeding. Not her problem right now.

She got her teeth in its neck, twisted with a snarl. The beast fell, belly on display, dark and hairless and vulnerable.

She bit. Tore. Another gush of blood on her tongue.

It scratched fruitlessly against her face and neck.

The other knocked her stumbling. Her injured shoulder gave out and she met the dirt. The beast was upon her, snarling and tearing. Her own blood flowed freely.

Anger flared within her and she rolled. She was up again, leaping at her attacker. Her teeth drove home. The beast retreated.

The young were still at her flanks. She was streaming blood. She kicked, twisted, turned. The pups were knocked free. She pounced on one, bit down. It shrieked, then fell silent. Two remained.

Strong jaws gripped one of them. She snapped its neck with a jerk of her own. It fell lifeless.

The last pup shredded her nose as she snapped at it. It met with the same fate. For a brief few moments she stood victorious.

A shock of pain at her middle. She hit the ground. The last beast’s teeth sank into her belly, claws tearing at her flesh. Pain lanced through her. She was losing blood. And then, the beast was gone.

She stood. The human had it by the neck. She held it against her body.

Its belly was exposed. It had no fur to protect it.

Her teeth flashed. Its viscera painted the dirt.

It was finished.

She stood, panting, bleeding, tired.

She shook her head. Her thoughts grew muddled.

Jasper’s thoughts focused properly as she observed the carnage around her. She felt weak, dizzy, blood loss and the exhaustion of shifting taxing her body.

She shifted back with the sound of stones knocking in wet burlap, standing, wobbly, red already blooming on her shirt and pants, blood dripping from the scratches across her nose. They would begin healing soon, but right now, her consciousness was pain and weakness. She hated that feeling, the wobbliness of blood loss and exhaustion. She hated having to shift outside of the full moon. But she couldn’t have covered that distance in time, not on two legs. It had been instinctive.

But god, she was fucking tired.

She pointed at Peridot.

“I’ll yell at you later. Go get the van.”

She settled into a sitting position against a rock, heavily, panting and sweating, looking very much like she had just fallen against the rock and slid down. She’d left a smudge of blood on her way down. She had meant to sit. Absolutely.

Peridot obeyed wordlessly, taking off across the scrubland at a stumbling run.

Jasper just looked at the bodies of the six chupacabras dazedly as she waited for Peridot to return. She didn’t know how long it was before she could hear the van closing in. She pushed herself up and stumbled out of the rocks and towards the van, still streaming blood in places. Fuck, this sucked.

She climbed into the passenger seat, then pointed to the cluster of rocks.

“Get their heads, and the first one too. Farmer’s Co-Op wants proof. Might be able to get more for all seven.”

Peridot nodded shakily and grabbed a couple plastic bags from the back before slipping out. Jasper leaned back against the back seat with a wince at her torn shoulder. Blood loss was a pain. Even with the healing. As painful as the burns were, at least they were cauterized.

Peridot returned, plastic bags full of heads floating behind her, hung on metal loops she must have grabbed at some point. Her sawblades floated alongside her as well, dusty and one of them covered in dark stains.

The ride back to the hotel, with the pit stop to collect the last head, was silent save for Jasper’s ragged, growly breathing. Shifting was exhausting. Peridot was still shaking.

Peridot hung back as Jasper stumbled into the hotel room, but she didn’t care much. She just wanted to sit on the bed and catch her breath, make the world stop spinning every so often. She mostly just watched the kitschy painting on the wall. When she could feel Peridot in the room, she sighed, the sound growly and tired.

“What were you thinking?” She rumbled, her voice all breathy from her exhaustion. The anger in her voice was subdued, tired, more exasperation than rage.

Peridot was silent, cowed.

“You could have gotten killed.”

“I-I- just wanted t-to-”

“You wanted to help people. So you went out with half an idea and weapons you can’t use for shit and nearly got torn to pieces.”

Peridot was quiet. Jasper wasn’t even looking at her, just listening to her reactions. She told herself she didn’t care. That she was angry.

“I’m the one who has to keep you safe. I can’t do that if you run off like that. Dumbass.”

“Wanted to prove I could-” Peridot mumbled.

“You proved you’re a reckless idiot with a hero complex and a death wish.  _ Stay with me _ , for fuck’s sake, you don’t know how dangerous this job  _ is. _ ”

Peridot mumbled a soft apology.

“Sorry isn’t going to keep you alive, Peridot. That’s my job. Don’t do this again.”

“I-I- I won’t.” She said softly. Jasper sighed and shook her head.

“I’m glad you’re not hurt.” She took a long, slow breath. “And thank you for getting that last one off me.”

She looked down at the red stain covering most of her chest and belly. Her whole body ached. She’d been shredded  _ good _ .

Jasper was quiet for a while until Peridot came up, holding a box in front of her.

“Would you heal faster if I sewed them up?” Peridot asked, her voice small. Jasper glanced at the box, then up at Peridot, looking pensive. She didn’t think Peridot could sew… but it did sound like something that might  _ help _ .

“Yeah, think so. Shoulder’s got some of the skin hanging; I can feel it. Start there.”

“I-I-” Peridot stammered, blushing brightly and looking away a bit. “I, uh, you- need- your shirt off-”

Her embarrassment was cute. Jasper gave a tired, barely-there little grin and pulled her shirt over her head with a pained groan, setting it aside to soak in the tub once she was finished. Her dark skin was mottled with sticky red and crisscrossed with bright, barely-healing scratches; under the blood, scars could be seen.

Her belly, and her entire back, were a patchwork of scars, cuts and burns and gouges that hadn’t healed properly. Her dark skin, and the lighter patches, was marked with reminders of past failures.

Peridot went from blushing and embarrassed to pale and worried.

“You don’t… heal completely?”

“Sometimes I do,” Jasper grunted. “Sometimes it’s bad.”

“That’s… a lot of bad,” Peridot said, her voice small. Jasper looked at the wall, not wanting to make eye contact with Peridot, not wanting to see the pity in her eyes.

“One day you’ll believe me when I say this job only ends one way.”

Peridot set the box on the bed and crossed in front of her, headed to the bathroom, returning with pristine white towels that were steaming slightly from hot water.

“Lean back,” she said, her jaw set. Jasper obeyed, not wanting to expend the energy it would take to argue. Peridot started washing the sticky, drying blood off Jasper’s belly. The werewolf arched and hissed every so often as the hot towel swept over the gouges carved in her stomach.

“Forward,” Came Peridot’s next command. Jasper obeyed once more, resting her arms on her knees with a tired, pained groan.

Peridot washed over her back, the warmth relaxing despite the sting of every contact with an open wound. She felt a tentative, shaking touch on the chunk of skin barely hanging onto her shoulder. She felt Peridot moving it and couldn’t help but shudder, the sensation uncanny in its distinctive  _ wrongness _ , meat moving against meat, neither of which should be exposed to the air like it was. As it moved, the tug of the skin still attached made her shiver.

The first prick of a needle against her skin made her hiss, but it was tentative and barely got into her skin, just a painful little pinprick.

“More force,” Jasper grunted. The next prick moved through her skin properly, drawing another hiss as it went into the barely-attached flap of flesh from the inside. “Better.”

The feeling of fishing line moving through her flesh made her skin crawl, but she told herself it was better than healing wrong like so many other times. Peridot stitched slowly, tentatively, drawing hisses and grunts from Jasper, but neither of them spoke for a while.

It was Peridot who broke the silence.

“I froze up,” She said quietly. Jasper had been looking at the painting on the wall, memorizing its details in an effort not to think about the patch work going on on her back.

“Happens,” she grunted.

“I just. There were two, and the second ran after I killed the first, so I followed it, but when I saw the others, I just…” She could feel Peridot’s sigh against the back of her head. “I forgot everything I’d planned on doing.”

Jasper sighed.

“Didn’t expect you to be a master from the start,” she rumbled, voice low and soft, betraying just how exhausted she was. “‘S why I wanted to be with you. So you wouldn’t bite off more’n you could chew and get killed.”

“I thought… you’d just… said it would be easy, so…” Peridot’s voice was small and her fingers shook as she stitched.

“Easy for me. Easy compared to, say, a demon. Not easy for a beginner on their own.”

Peridot fell silent again and Jasper was, on some level, grateful. The room was quiet for a little while as Peridot continued stitching, but she spoke up after a while.

“I expected you to yell.”

“Too tired to yell. Wouldn’t make a difference anyway. It’s done. We survived. Both a blessing and a curse.”

“I’m… sorry,” Peridot said quietly.

“Lesson learned,” Jasper rumbled in response. “I couldn’t say anything you aren’t already saying to yourself. Consider it behind us, and do better moving forward.”

“I will,” Peridot murmured.


	5. Stink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peridot gets training and Jasper gets them a new job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it still counts as the same day if i havent slept yet right

Jasper dodged the flying sawblade with a roll, the motion kicking up dust and rocks as she leapt back to her feet.

“Good! Bring it around again!”

Peridot was concentrating, sweat beading up on her forehead as she guided the heavy sawblade through the air. Jasper ducked as it zoomed over her head, a close miss that had her glancing at Peridot and wondering if that was a show of improved skill or if Peridot had meant to go higher.

The blade zoomed at her again, right towards her middle, and she shifted away, turning so that the blade just barely missed the fat of her belly.

“Better!”

The both of them were panting slightly, Peridot with the effort of concentrating and Jasper from her rapid movements.

Jasper scooped up one of many broomsticks from the scattered pile on the ground and spun it in her grip before holding it by one end and pointing it away from her.

“I want this in three pieces, Peridot!” She called, grinning. The blades zoomed towards her, spinning, but she didn’t flinch as one of them cut through the stick and the other just barely missed it. “Good start! Again, three pieces!”

This time, one of them zoomed close enough to nick her knuckle, causing her to drop the stick. But it  _ did _ fall in three pieces this time.

“Sorry!” Peridot called. Jasper licked the beading blood from her knuckle and snatched up one stick in each hand.

“Again!”

“O-okay!” Peridot responded, motioning to bring the sawblades back towards her and then turning them in midair.

“Just a few inches from each tip. You can do this!” Jasper was grinning, enjoying herself immensely. The chance to move like this, barking out gruff orders, taking in great breaths of desert air, it was all thrilling, a nice change from driving or sitting in a hotel room. They’d gotten enough from the hellhound and chupacabra jobs that they could afford a day or two to get Peridot some practice with her blades.

The sawblades zoomed towards Jasper and then split off, one of them toward each stick, cutting through the wood easily. Both cuts managed to nip off a chunk of the broomstick, one a bit closer to Jasper than the other, but still relatively near the end.

“Again! From behind!”

Jasper held steady as the blades turned around and came back towards her. Earlier, she wouldn’t have trusted Peridot to control them well enough to turn her back to them, but- she’d been improving steadily all day. And if she did end up with a sawblade buried in her back, well, what’s another scar? She did hope Peridot didn’t accidentally take off her head, but that was mostly for Peridot’s sake, not her own.

The blades buzzed past her and nipped off the right length again. Jasper whooped happily as the blades returned to their positions hovering just over Peridot’s outstretched hands.

“You’re doing great!” Jasper said, a remarkably  _ open _ smile on her face, energized from her activity. Peridot turned redder in the face. Jasper paused after a moment, though, and squinted at Peridot’s exposed, freckled shoulders. They had been out here a while, and Peridot had the pale complexion of someone more suited to staying inside… she was fairly certain that the red showing on Peridot’s shoulders was  _ not _ a blush.

She tossed the sticks aside to become part of the desert landscape and started closing the distance between the two of them.

“How are you doing? Ready to call it a day?”

Peridot wrinkled her nose and returned her blades to the hooks she’d attached to her belt loops.

“I’m hungry,” she said. “And it’s hot. So… how about we hit that Moonlight All Nite Diner? ...and then get a shower, because I bet we both reek.”

“I can smell us. It’s fantastic.” Jasper grinned as she got close enough to Peridot, then ruffled the smaller woman’s hair. Peridot squawked and immediately tried to fix her hair back. “Smells like hard work.”

“You smell like  _ dog. _ ”

“You keep saying that.”

“Well you keep smelling like dog!”

Jasper walked past Peridot and towards the van, grinning and good-natured after their exercise, laughing a bit to herself.

“C’mon, shortstack. Let’s get something to eat. My treat.”

Peridot followed eagerly and climbed into the van beside Jasper, only to hiss in pain once she leaned back against the seat. Jasper looked over to see Peridot leaning forward and touching her red shoulders gingerly.

“Sunburn?” She asked. Peridot nodded, looking pathetic.

“Remind me to use sunscreen next time…” she mumbled.

Peridot proceeded to whine and hiss the entire way to the diner, acting like her sunburn was a terrible injury. Jasper’s shoulder still hadn’t completely healed after the chupacabras, but instead of acting like Peridot was being a melodramatic baby she just laughed, a little huffy sound. She was in an excellent mood after getting the chance to work her body in an otherwise harmless situation.

“We can pick up some aloe on the way back. You’ll live, though it might be touch and go for a while.”

“Ha,” Peridot whined. Jasper turned the a/c up and made an idle little hand motion.

“Go ahead and turn around. Get a little cool air on it. I’ll drive safe.”

Peridot obeyed, turning around in the seat and sitting uncomfortably. It was only a moment or two before she sighed, a pleased sound, and smiled.

“Better?” Jasper asked.

“A little.”

The van pulled into the parking lot of the diner with a shuddering sigh, stopping with a jerk. Jasper put a hand out to catch Peridot’s head before her back hit the dashboard, though Peridot still yelped in alarm as momentum carried her backwards. Peridot froze up for a moment, expression quite confused.

“Um. Thank you?”

Jasper flashed a crooked grin.

“You could have died. Can’t have your sunburn get the best of you.”

“You’re an ass.”

“Yes.”

Both of them were laughing once they slipped out of the van. As they walked inside, Jasper’s cell phone dinged. The werewolf reached into her pocket and hung back a moment to check it, making a little  _ hm _ sound at the text.

_ 14 MP in Lola, WY. SV acct of MA, RIP in Hosp. B $2500 by SD. Y/N? _

Jasper tapped in a quick  _ Ds? _ and pushed her way inside after Peridot. They settled at a window booth and started to look over the menus for a few moments until Jasper’s phone rang. The waitress showed up right when she answered it.

“Guerrero. Speak.”

She was quiet for a while, grunting little affirmative noises into the phone. She pointed out what she wanted to Peridot and continued her near-silent listening. The waitress took their orders from Peridot, then disappeared.

“Understood,” she finally said, reaching for the drink that had shown up courtesy of their waitress. “I accept. ETA twenty hours. Chao.”

Peridot was leaning forward with her head on her arms when Jasper was finished, but she looked up as the werewolf set her phone back aside.

“Job?” she asked. Jasper nodded.

“Missing persons, with one survivor account of a monster attack. Not many details since the guy died shortly after, but. The bounty isn’t bad.”

“So… what are we going up against?” Peridot asked, interest drawn.

“Dunno for sure, but I have some ideas. We’d be looking for something four-legged with wings. The attack was at night, so aside from that and the guy saying it had a ‘weird face,’ we don’t have a lot to go on.”

“What sort of injuries did he have?” Peridot asked, reaching for her own phone.

“Uh, scratches and stab wounds. Some weird spike things. Could be a dragon.”

“Mmn,” Peridot said as she held onto her phone. Jasper could tell from Peridot’s expression that she was doing her weird technovoodoo thing with her phone.

Jasper was just quiet at that realization, tapping her fingers idly against the table and looking around. She hadn’t actually run into a dragon, and didn’t know much about them. But she’d gone into situations flying blind many times before, so she could handle herself.

“Not a dragon,” Peridot said, still a bit out of it, apparently still focusing on the information in the phone. “Sphinx, potentially. Chimera. Manticore. Gryphon.” She was listing out potentials that Jasper had considered as well, for the most part. Jasper hadn’t begun to narrow down her search just yet, but Peridot seemed to be doing it quickly enough.

“Not a chimera,” Jasper added. “I don’t think they have wings.”

“Goat head could be mistaken for wings in the dark,” Peridot murmured. Though after a moment, she made a soft little  _ oh _ sound and looked up, blinking a bit like she was trying to clear her head. “Manticore.”

“For sure?”

“Was that rhyme intentional?” Peridot snorted. Jasper let out a huff of laughter as well.

“No, but thank you for thinking so. Why a manticore?”

“Well, like- I don’t know for sure if they’re real or not, but there are differing accounts of manticores, and one of them involves shooting spikes from its tail. The victim was stabbed by spikes. Manticores are said to eat every bit of their prey and leave nothing behind; there are missing people with no clue as to where they’ve gone. Plus, manticores are said to have humanlike faces. The guy said it had a weird face. Ergo, manticore.”

“Not bad,” Jasper said. “Maybe there’s a reason to keep you around, nerd.”

“Ass.”

Jasper opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by the appearance of the waitress carrying their food. Protest was put aside in order to eat.

They were out of the diner as soon as they were done, headed back to get the last of their stuff from the motel. Peridot got her aloe, and once they were on the road she was crouched in front of the vent on the passenger’s side in a spaghetti strap tank top with the straps dangling below her arms. Jasper found herself glancing over every so often as she drove, at the reddened skin and the freckles she could still see among the red.

Peridot shivered a little every so often, but for the most part she seemed intent on keeping her sunburn as cool as possible, reapplying the aloe vera nearly every half-hour. Most of her attention was on her phone for most of the ride.

“While you’re on that thing,” Jasper finally started, “See if you can find anything on how to kill a manticore.”

“Mmn, I’ve looked up a bit already. Their fur is apparently impenetrable, so their weak points would be their eyes, mouth, wings, and tail.”

“So, precision, then.”

“Or make it eat a sawblade. Like. I could totally do that. That is something I am absolutely capable of doing.”

Jasper snorted.

“Does that make me the bait?” The thought didn’t bother her too much. The more attention a monster paid to her, the less it would pay to Peridot. “Are you sure you won’t freeze up this time?”

The words were said in a light tone, but Jasper was serious. Peridot seemed to pick up on that, flinching a bit and looking down.

“I-I dunno. I want to try, though.”

Jasper let out a long, slow breath through her nose, shaking her head for a moment until she finally flashed a little lopsided grin at Peridot.

“I’ll be armed, too, then. Just in case.”

Peridot nodded, silent, and the air in the van was just a bit more tense than it had been before.

When they reached Lola, Jasper pulled the van into the motel nearest the Sheriff’s Department (according to her GPS) and headed inside to get them a room. Jasper carried the both of their bags into the room once she got the key, and Peridot remained quiet through most of it, pensive.

Jasper was about to head out, check in with the Sheriff’s Department and get any new information. Peridot stopped her.

“I won’t freeze up this time!” She started, red from more than just her sunburn. “You can count on me! I’ll kick that manticore’s ass before you have a chance to do anything!”

Jasper patted down her hair.

“You’d better not go off on your own again.”

Peridot started and frowned, looking offended.

“I told you I wouldn’t!”

“Good. Because I’m not burying you.”

“Jasper, I can hold my own!”

“We’ll see,” Jasper said quietly. She didn’t want Peridot getting hurt, but the smaller woman really did seem to have gotten the hang of using her sawblades. She was quite the excitable hero, Peridot.

The sheriff didn’t have any new information, but Jasper did manage to get the rough locations of each disappearance. By the time she made it back to the motel, there were dark circles under her eyes. It had been a sixteen-hour drive, and she’d driven through with the help of coffee and energy drinks, but they had finally worn off.

“Six hours to dark,” She said to Peridot, “I’m gonna get some sleep. We’ll head out around nine; sheriff said the disappearances all happened between ten and two.”

She changed into her boxers and undershirt in the bathroom, as usual, and then sprawled out on the bed, snoring to beat the band.

When she woke up, Peridot was already ready, still-pink shoulders exposed by a tank top and her sawblades hanging from her belt.

“Eager?” Jasper asked, almost smiling.

“Hell yeah,” Peridot said. She looked serious. Determined.

Jasper changed into actual clothes and headed out to the van, picking through her arsenal until she pulled out a crossbow. With her usual machete, knives, and beretta, she was armed to the teeth and ready to take on what they were by now relatively certain was a manticore.

The sheriff had shown her a map of all the disappearances, and they were all within a couple miles of each other. Somewhere in that area was the thing’s nest. It had to live  _ somewhere _ , after all…

They drove to the most recent location, where the only victim who escaped had been attack, in tense silence. Jasper wasn’t worried about being able to take out a manticore; she’d beaten things in the past that seemed even more difficult than this, and she was confident in her ability to survive. But Peridot…

Peridot was human. Peridot was  _ soft _ . And damn it, Jasper had gotten  _ attached _ . Annoying as she was, her energy was infectious, and she was  _ damn _ smart. She was definitely an  _ asset _ , but she was just so damn  _ weak _ …

So, clearly, Jasper would have to make sure the squishy little nerd didn’t get hit.

Her boots hit the pavement and she grunted heavily, still a bit lost in her own mind, but as soon as she was outside of the van she could smell a foul stench on the air. It was weak-- the attack had been two days before-- but it wasn’t anything that Jasper could recognize. It had hints of lion and hints of reptile and something foul and dead that she couldn’t place.

It had to be the manticore.

Jasper motioned for Peridot and inhaled in short, quick breaths.

“Stay close,” she growled, bringing the crossbow up at the ready. Peridot unhooked her blades as well, hovering them just under her hands. She didn’t think there would be anything to worry about here, but… better safe than sorry.

She followed the scent warily, having a bit of trouble once the beast seemed to have started flying, but as they wound their way through street after street, she had to pause, putting her hand out in front of Peridot to stop her forward motion as well.

The smell was getting stronger, no longer a faint scent on the wind but something with  _ substance _ .

“It’s close,” Jasper growled.

Then she heard wingbeats.


	6. Sting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A fight goes terrifyingly wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> work was very slow today
> 
> also, small emetophobia warning in this chapter

Jasper instinctively stepped in front of Peridot, nostrils flaring as she took in great breaths, ears straining to pinpoint where the beast was.

“Jasper-”

“Shh,” she grunted. She looked around for somewhere that was open enough to lure the monster out, then grabbed Peridot by the wrist and uttered a low “C’mon” before she took off towards the open street and the orange glow of a streetlight.

The beat of wings grew louder, closer, and she could hear a low growling sound as she pulled up under the streetlight. She could even hear Peridot’s heartbeat, as loud as it was pounding, or she was hearing her own–

A shadow whooshed past them, just outside of the streetlight’s range, and Jasper reflexively dragged Peridot to the side, a line of tan needle-like spikes burying in the pavement where they’d been standing. Jasper hefted her crossbow and tried to trace the path of the shadow as it circled.

There was no escape from a flying foe, not like this, but at the very least they were far from helpless prey.

Peridot sent a blade spinning off towards the sound of wings, but it returned clean, settling to spin beneath her hand again.

Jasper dragged Peridot to the side again as another line of spikes appeared in the pavement where they’d been standing. She fired in the direction it came from and was greeted by the sound of a pained screech. The sound of wingbeats changed slightly; she must have pierced its wing with her bolt.

She loaded another and stepped closer to Peridot. The sound of wings grew closer, more rapid. The beast in the shadows winged its way out and Jasper got a look at its shadowy form.

It was huge, bigger than a lion, with great leathery wings and a lashing tail edged with sharp spikes. Once it landed inside the ring of orange light, she could see its shaggy mane, spikes sticking from that as well. Its face was an uncanny, unsettling mix of human and beast, too-wide mouth bristling with too many teeth.

There was a hole in the leather of one of its wings. Jasper had landed a hit.

The manticore ran towards them, snarling, and whipped its tail forward. Jasper shoved Peridot to the side just in time for the spikes to land right where she’d been standing. The smaller woman let out a yelp of surprise, but didn’t protest.

Peridot whipped her sawblades towards the beast’s face, and Jasper leveled her crossbow again, but the manticore launched itself in the air again before either of their attacks could hit.

The whole area was permeated with the sickly-sweet smell of decay that swept in after the manticore winged its way upwards once more.

“Wings,” Jasper grunted, following the sound of the beast’s wingbeats. “Disable them. We need it on the ground.”

Peridot nodded. Jasper could see her hands shaking, but her jaw was set and she seemed determined.

The manticore winged around them again and Jasper leveled her gaze on the moving shadow, able to follow it a bit easier now that she knew what she was looking for.

Peridot sent out a spinning blade in the direction Jasper was looking, but it came back clean once more. The smaller woman made a dismayed grunting sound and sent them both out, spinning around the entire area in concentric circles.

There was a bestial cry of pain and a heavy thudding sound shortly after. One of the blades returned edged with red.

“Good!” Jasper grunted, leveling her crossbow in the direction of the sound.

The manticore prowled into the light, growling, one wing dragging the ground and streaming blood near the shoulder, a good chunk missing.

Its tail whipped forward and Jasper leaped to the side, rolled, recovered, looking warily at the line of spikes where she’d been standing. The damn thing was fast, and fucking accurate to boot. No wonder it had managed to take out so many people before being discovered.

Jasper fired a bolt into the beast, grazing its face but bouncing off its mane, the fur and spikes there considerably tougher than its face. Apparently its fur really  _ was _ impenetrable.

The manticore sprang forward, towards Peridot, and Jasper’s heart leapt into her throat for a moment before a sawblade cut a gash across the manticore’s stunted snout and had it scrambling backwards.

Jasper dropped the crossbow and drew her machete. She always did love close combat more.

She leaped forward with a roar, blood pumping through her with the thrill of battle. She slashed, the blow deflected by the manticore’s mane, but she had gotten its attention, finally. It turned its gaze from Peridot to Jasper and roared.

Jasper punched it directly in the snout and it let out a pained cry. Jasper laughed as she brought the machete up, trying to stab through its lower jaw, but the beast was shaking its head and backing up with pained growling sounds. She grunted in dismay, but leaped back as a sawblade whizzed past her, barely missing the manticore’s head and scoring another deep cut on its injured wing.

The manticore roared in pain and backpedaled, but coiled itself to spring shortly afterward. It leaped at Peridot, and Jasper threw herself at the beast.

She connected and grunted at the shock, but the manticore was knocked off-course and fell scrambling to the ground with a pained roar.

Its tail whipped forward, and Jasper was too busy recovering her own balance to move.

But the spikes didn’t hit her. They passed right by her, narrowly missing her hip, and for a brief, happy moment she felt herself lucky.

Until Peridot let out a yelp of pain.

Jasper’s head whipped around, eyes wide, to see Peridot with one of the needle-like spikes sticking out of the side of her stomach. The smaller woman stumbled backwards and her knees buckled.

Icy fear gripped Jasper’s chest before she turned to the manticore and let out a roar, launching herself at the beast with her machete drawn.

She rammed into the manticore with all the force of a pissed off werewolf, teeth bared and machete flashing. The beast’s injured wing fell to the ground, severed by a powerful, hacking slash. She grabbed the other wing and hefted herself onto the beast, straddling its back and gripping its mane as she brought her machete around.

Jasper locked her blade against the manticore’s face, caught it under the top row of razor-sharp teeth, and grabbed the blunted edge of her blade on the other side.

Her foot planted firmly at the base of the manticore’s neck, she shoved her leg forward and yanked her machete back, panting raggedly. The manticore screeched in pain as the machete pulled through the sides of its jaw inch by inch.

Rage flooded Jasper’s body and she gave one last great heave, pulling the blade the last few inches through until it hit the bottom of her boot.

The manticore shuddered and went limp. Jasper rolled off the beast and ran, panting, over to Peridot.

The smaller woman’s shirt was stained red around the protruding spike and Peridot’s pale skin was sallow, sickly-looking. Her breathing was rapid and shallow as she struggled to sit up, whimpering in pain.

“Peri-” Jasper started, hitting her knees next to Peridot, her machete forgotten next to the manticore’s body. She looked so much smaller, now, for some reason, vulnerable-

Peridot flashed her a weak grin.

“S-sorry, I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Don’t apologize,” Jasper grunted. “You did great.”

“It burns,” Peridot added, gingerly touching it. “Think it’s poisoned.”

“I’ll get you to a hospital-”

“Get the weapons first,” Peridot said with a weak grin. “I’ll be fine.”

Jasper looked back over to her discarded machete and crossbow, moving to sheath her machete– it was etched with sigils and imbued with magic, an important weapon to keep– but ignoring the crossbow.

She went to pick Peridot up, but the smaller woman shooed her away, struggling to her feet all wobbly and weak.

“I-I can walk,” she murmured, before shuddering and wobbling her way over to the streetlight, placing a steadying hand against it. There was the sound of retching and Peridot leaned over, vomiting what looked like deep red sludge before she wobbled again and started to fall.

Jasper caught her, panting, and lifted her small form into her arms.

“Hospital. Now.” she grunted. Peridot coughed and nodded weakly.

Jasper set off for the van at a dead run, panting raggedly and pushing herself as fast as she could manage with Peridot in her arms.

She’d fucked up. She’d let Peridot get hurt. She didn’t know what they could do about manticore venom. She didn’t have any clue. She’d- she’d never run into this before- this was all her fault–

She laid Peridot in the back of the van and jumped into the driver’s seat, taking off far faster than she had any right to, still panting raggedly and looking behind her at the trembling form amidst the makeshift bed in the back of the van.

“Peri, you still there?”

“Present,” came the quivery little voice from the blankets.

Jasper sped through the streets, following her GPS to the hospital, hazard lights flashing. She nearly hit two different cars, swerving and drawing little whimpers from Peridot in the back as she was jostled about.

She gritted her teeth. She was such a fucking failure, couldn’t even protect Peridot, useless, worthless, a disgrace- she shouldn’t have let Peridot join her–

The van screeched to a stop outside the hospital and Jasper burst through the emergency room doors with Peridot in her arms. Peridot leaned her sweaty, fevered head against Jasper’s chest, breathing shallow and eyes barely open.

“Help-” Jasper said, quietly, and repeated herself louder. “H-help-! She’s- she’s been stabbed- a-and some kind of poison–”

A rush of activity and a bed was brought out. Jasper placed Peridot carefully on the hospital bed, hands shaking. She looked so small–

As they started wheeling her away, Jasper followed.

“I’m sorry- you’ll- you’ll have to stay out here,” one of the nurses said, looking up at Jasper’s amazonian form.

Jasper loomed over the shorter man and made a low growling sound.

“ _ Make me. _ ”

The nurse backed up some and allowed Jasper passage. She followed the knot of people pushing Peridot down the hall.

“She was attacked by some kind of creature. The spine has to be poisoned- I didn’t take it out- didn’t want her to bleed out-”

“If you thought it was poisoned, you should have removed it!” one of the nurses snapped. Jasper stopped her forward motion abruptly, dazed as if she’d been slapped. The bed with Peridot on it rolled around a corner and disappeared, leaving Jasper gaping and horrified.

What if Peridot died because she hadn’t taken the spine out–

She fumbled with her phone, big, clumsy fingers shaking as she dialed.

It rang three times before it was answered, and she didn’t even give the person on the other line a chance to greet her before she was breathlessly babbling.

“Sapph. Manticore. N-need to know how to treat the venom. Fast as you can.  _ Please _ .”

“Give me ten minutes. I’ll call back.”

The other end of the line went dead and Jasper pulled her phone away, looking dully at the screen.

It was the longest ten minutes of her life. She jogged around the corner to try to catch up with Peridot and the nurses, but she’d lost track of them. They were nowhere to be seen. Everything smelled like sanitizer and death, so she couldn’t even follow her scent, not with her nose burning like this–

She ran down the hallways, looking into rooms and down side hallways and through closed doors until she was turned around and utterly lost, with no Peridot to be seen.

Her phone rang.

“Guerrero. Tell me you have good news, Sapph.”

“Soak a cloth in the manticore’s blood and hold it to the entry wound. Should draw out the poison.”

“Thanks. Owe you one.”

“See to it you remember.”

Jasper hung up without a goodbye, heartbeat pounding in her fingertips as she looked around, trying to get her bearings.

She finally managed to track down someone to direct her out, and she ran to the van, speeding back to the site even faster than she’d gotten to the hospital now that she was the only one in the van.

There was a puddle of drying blood where she’d left the manticore lying. She grabbed one of her shirts and threw it in the puddle, soaking up as much of the blood as she could.

A brief moment of clarity had her gathering up Peridot’s blades and her own crossbow while her shirt soaked up the dark blood.

She tossed the weapons and the now-sodden shirt in the passenger seat and took off back to the hospital.

She slammed her hand down on the front desk breathlessly, looking a sight with the bloody shirt in her hand and her disheveled and bloody appearance.

“Peridot Keil. Jane Doe who came in less than an hour ago with a puncture wound in the abdomen.”

The woman behind the desk leaned back some, wide-eyed, and looked around the lobby like she was seeking help from the crazy person demanding information. When she found no one willing to go up against the hulking, intimidating beast of a women, she tapped meekly at her computer to pull up the information.

“They just got her out of surgery. Third floor, room 303.” The receptionist’s voice was quivery, like she was afraid Jasper would have done something violent if she hadn’t complied.

Jasper just stalked to the elevator and headed up, pacing inside the tiny metal box like a caged animal, shirt dripping manticore blood on the tiles beneath her.

When she reached Peridot’s room, she paused. The smaller woman looked tiny and pathetic in the bed, pale and still shaking. Lines of dark red spiderwebbed across her visible skin, a network of darkened veins beneath her pale skin. Her eyes barely opened when Jasper walked in and she flashed the werewolf a grin.

“Missed you.”

“Oh, hush. How’re you feeling?”

“Like I’m seconds from death, so basically a good day on my period.”

Jasper managed a little smile at that, letting out a single soft  _ heh _ of laughter. At least Peridot still had a sense of humor.

“You look like shit,” She said as she drew closer, shirt still dripping blood on the tile.

“Feel like shit. They cut off my camp crest shirt. I loved that shirt.”

Jasper sighed and shook her head.

“I’ll buy you a new one. Let me see your side.”

“They patched me up, but they can’t do anything about the venom. Hurts like hell.”

Jasper held up the dripping shirt.

“I’ve got you there. Pull up your gown.”

“At least take me to dinner first,” Peridot said with a snort. She did, however, comply, moving her blanket to keep herself decent.

There was a bandage over the entry wound, but it couldn’t do a thing to cover the massive network of dark red lines flowing from the entry point.

Jasper pulled out one of her knives and opened up the bandage, nipped through the sutures holding the hole closed. It was even uglier beneath the bandage, and a drip of deep red oozed down Peridot’s side from the reopened hole.

“This might hurt,” Jasper said. She didn’t know for sure, but she wanted Peridot to be warned just in case.

She pressed the bloodied shirt against Peridot’s wound and the smaller woman arched and hissed.

“Fuck--”

“Shh, this’ll help. Bear with me.”

The web of red seemed to pulse and writhe beneath Peridot’s skin and the smaller woman hissed and whined, clenching her fists around bundles of the hospital sheets.

But the red started to recede. It pulsed and writhed beneath Peridot’s skin and the smaller woman gasped and whimpered and gripped the sheets beneath her, chest heaving.

The red receded slowly, inch by agonizing, pulsing inch, until the last dregs finally were sucked into the sodden shirt.

Peridot whined, but relaxed back on the bed, panting and whimpering softly. She was sweating and shaking and pale, but she was no longer covered in a network of angry red lines.

Jasper let out a slow breath.

“You okay?” she asked, worried and uncharacteristically soft.

“I still got stabbed,” Peridot panted.

Jasper straightened up to toss the shirt into the biohazard bin in the room, then headed to the bathroom. She returned with a steaming white washcloth and began to gently wash the manticore blood and dark red ooze from Peridot’s side.

“I’ll get a nurse in here to sew you back up. It doesn’t seem like it hit any organs, so it’s just gonna hurt like a bitch for a little while.”

“I’d give anything for your healing factor,” Peridot mumbled.

“No, you wouldn’t,” Jasper responded, her voice low and firm. “You don’t want this.”

Peridot looked confused.

“Why not?”

“Because you haven’t seen me at the full moon yet. Not being in control of your own mind… it’s…” she shook her head. “When I shift by choice, I can keep a bit of control. But on the full moon…”

She looked up at Peridot, then looked away with a frown.

“You don’t want this.”

Peridot raised a hand to rest it on one of Jasper’s.

“I’ll take your word on it. As cool as being a werewolf would be…”

“Don’t even consider it,” Jasper said, looking briefly at Peridot’s hand on top of hers and deciding against moving. “I won’t turn you. It isn’t pleasant.”

“Did you choose to become a werewolf?” Peridot asked, voice small. Jasper paused for a good long while before letting a long breath out through her nose and shaking her head.

It wasn’t something she cared to remember.

She hated the way Peridot looked at her after that. The smaller woman’s expression fell, pity and worry on her face, and Jasper looked away, pulling her hand from beneath Peridot’s and standing upright.

“I’ll get a nurse,” she rumbled before heading out the door.


	7. Sisters Grim

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kids are disappearing in Louisiana. Why?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a slow chapter and im very sorry

Peridot was in the hospital for two days recuperating, and Jasper thought she was going to go insane. She’d gotten their stuff from the hotel and checked out, picked up their bounty, and set up camp in Peridot’s room, in a too-small, incredibly uncomfortable chair. But it was her fault Peridot was there in the first place, and she could suffer through an uncomfortable chair just to make sure nothing went even more wrong with Peridot.

She hated the smell of hospitals. Sanitizer and death. She could feel the last dregs of spirits hovering in the halls, though they were far from dangerous; merely confused, or sad, or lost. There was nothing she could do for them but feel their presence occasionally, a little gust of cool air that ruffled her hair or a shiver that crept up her spine.

She had a tinge of sixth sense at times, but usually only enough to notice the stronger, more malevolent spirits. But the hospital was so heavy with the dead that she couldn’t help but feel it.

Peridot grew agitated as well, before too long. She seemed to be enjoying being confined to a bed just about as much as Jasper was enjoying being in the hospital. She spent most of her time on her laptop.

She’d managed to convince Jasper to watch more of her Camp Whining Hearts or whatever show, and the werewolf had to admit it was entertaining, if a bit melodramatic. A lot melodramatic. Honestly, she understood Peridot so much better after getting a glimpse into the smaller woman’s obsession. Or at least, she realized that melodrama was like Peridot’s lifeblood.

It was honestly kind of cute.

Jasper shook her head and returned her attention to the show, leaning back into the chair and tilting her head for a better view. The opening went over and the episode title showed across the screen. “The Problem with Pierre.”

She liked Pierre. Percy, too. She had to admit, Peridot was right about their chemistry.

“This is my favorite episode!”

“Peridot, the last three episodes were your favorite episode.”

“…yes.”

Jasper snorted and settled in to watch.

A screen popped up midway through the episode with a little alert, and Peridot leaned forward abruptly, letting out a hiss of pain as the motion tugged at her healing wound.

“A job!”

Jasper leaned in a bit, squinting.

“You are not up for a job right now. Ignore it.” Jasper grumbled.

“No. Someone might need our help. I’ll be fine. I’m all patched up.”

Jasper sighed and sat back.

“Fine. What’s it say?”

Peridot scanned over the open page with a little _hm_ sound.

“Missing persons.”

“In…”

“Abbotsville, Louisiana. Kidnappings, like actual kids. There are eight missing in the last month.”

“Doesn’t sound like our kind of problem,” Jasper said with a grunt. “As much as I want to help the kids, we can’t take on every serial kidnapping or murder spree when that’s what the police are for.”

“There have been reports of a big black dog with glowing eyes showing up around when the children disappear.”

Jasper sighed.

“Okay, maybe our kind of problem. Bounty?”

Peridot scanned the page further.

“Uhh, sheriff is offering $1000 for any information leading to the return of the children.”

Jasper sighed. Low, but… _kids._ She shook her head as if to clear it.

“That’s a long drive, Peridot. Almost a day, if my math’s right. You sure you can make it?”

The smaller woman nodded with conviction.

“I’ll hack into the pharmacy and get some pain meds just in case.”

“How’re we paying for this, by the way?”

“ _We_ aren’t. I have excellent health insurance called “I can hack anything,” so the government is paying my medical bills out of the military budget.”

“Damn.”

“Right? I’m awesome.”

Peridot had managed to get herself what amounted to a small fortune in pain medication. When Jasper asked why she needed so much, Peridot informed her that as much as she got ripped up, it might come in handy.

“I don’t like pain meds,” Jasper grunted. “They dull my senses and slow my reflexes.”

“At the very least you can take them to help you sleep better,” Peridot had grumped. Jasper just shrugged.

“Pain is nothing but a reminder of failure and motivation to do better.”

Peridot rolled her eyes.

“That badass act doesn’t fool me. I saw how worried you got when you thought I was dying.”

“You _were_ dying,” Jasper grumped, but didn’t protest further, her face darkening.

“I got better.”

“Ha.”

“We’re keeping the pills. I’ll just drug your coffee if you need to chill.”

“ _Peridot._ ”

“I was kidding!”

Jasper just groaned and picked up Peridot’s messenger bag, slinging it over her shoulder.

“C’mon. Let’s go to Louisiana.”

The ride was long, but relatively easy. Peridot would occasionally complain about a bump jostling her and tugging at the sutures around her wound. Jasper would just call her a baby, but she still did her best to avoid potholes.

By the time they reached the gulf coast, Peridot was doing well enough to bring her laptop out during the ride, having to fold up a bit to balance properly.

“So we might be dealing with a lycanthrope of some kind, right?” Peridot asked.

“Or a grim,” Jasper grunted, eyes on the road. “Black dog with glowing eyes? They’re omens of death.”

“You deal with one of those before?”

“Nah, just info I’ve run across while looking for other things. They’re spirits, though. And I don’t remember them kidnapping children.”

“Hm,” Peridot murmured. Jasper glanced over at her.

“A black dog with glowing eyes sounds like a grim, though. Textbook.”

“So how do we kill it?”

“Our goal first is to find and rescue the missing kids. Killing the kidnapper comes after.”

“And… if they’re dead…?”

“We kill the murderer in as excruciatingly painful a way as possible.”

“Remind me not to piss you off.”

“Don’t piss me off.”

“Smartass.”

“It’s Jasper.”

Jasper grinned, looking sidelong at Peridot, quite proud of her joke. She saw Peridot look at her and just look away, a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

“I’m working on mapping where all the kids disappeared. So far, it’s looking like they’re disappearing from a relatively small area, but I’ve only mapped like… half of them.”

“And you’re finding that info from…”

“Police reports.”

“I’m gonna guess you didn’t get those legally.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Jasper snorted.

They were almost to the Louisiana border when Peridot made a little self-satisfied sound.

“Done mapping. They’ve all disappeared in a five-mile radius. Some of the highlights of that area include a paper mill, a warehouse, and a nursing home. Potentially a few abandoned houses.”

“I really don’t think the nursing home counts as a highlight,” Jasper said with exasperation in her voice.

“It’s like right in the middle of the disappearances.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“Suspicious, but what is a senior citizen gonna do with a bunch of missing kids?”

“I dunno. Eat them?”

“Peridot.”

“What? Hags have a long and colorful tradition of fattening children up and cooking them low and slow.”

“Yes. I know. It’s still disgusting.” Jasper was quiet for a moment as she tried to scrub _that_ thought out of her mind. “How do you even hide kids in a nursing home?”

It was Peridot’s turn to fall silent, expression pensive.

“Blankets? Really big closet?”

“Warehouse is probably the best bet. Plenty of room there.”

“So no chance of someone making paper from kidparts.”

“You have an active imagination.”

“I get bored easy.”

When they made it to Abbotsville early in the morning, Peridot directed Jasper towards the warehouse. As they pulled in through an opening in the rusted, warped chainlink fence, they got a good look at the warehouse in the pink morning sun. It was a derelict old thing, little more than the decaying remains of a particularly large barn. Paint barely clung to the metal in patches, and what wasn’t red with paint was red with rust. The yard around it was littered with abandoned machinery and curls of unused chainlink rusted over from years of abandonment.

Jasper sighed and cut the engine.

“This thing looks like a death trap,” She murmured.

“We going inside?”

“Of course.”

The door was chained shut, but the chain was so rusted that all it took was a single blow from Jasper’s machete hilt to split it and send it coiling onto the ground. The doors creaked open, protesting the pair’s trespassing.

Jasper led the way into the darkened warehouse with her phone out, using it as a flashlight. The little triangle of light swept across the room, not bright enough to reach into the nooks and crannies and corners but enough to give her a basic idea.

She sniffed the air, filtering through the scent of metal and age. Aside from vague remnants of people, probably teenage trespassers, the only things she could really smell is what must have been a massive nest of rats somewhere in the back. The warehouse had machinery and tools scattered across the bottom floor, and Jasper could tell without going further that this was not what they were looking for.

“No kids here. This is a bust,” she said, turning to look at Peridot. Peridot’s own phone light was still sweeping across the room.

“This place is creepy as shit.”

“Not the worst place I’ve been. Just old and dark. I don’t smell anything dangerous, so as long as you don’t touch anything and leave the rats alone, it’s perfectly safe.” Jasper turned around to look back at the back of the warehouse, like a second look would change anything.

Peridot sighed.

“Next location, th-” Her words cut off abruptly. Jasper leaned her head to the side before turning around to see what Peridot had stopped for.

Between them and the door, framed in Peridot’s phone light, was the largest rat Jasper had ever seen.

And “large” was an understatement. It was _huge._ It was standing on its hind legs, sniffing the air and seeming unconcerned, and like that it was just as tall as Peridot.

Jasper leaped forward, putting herself between Peridot and the rat, a growling sound emanating from her. She seemed to bristle, phone in one hand and machete in the other, trying to make herself seem bigger and more intimidating.

The rat stared her down. Jasper’s nostrils flared as she panted, growling, ready to spring at the rat if given the slightest provocation.

It didn’t come. The rat stared at her, nose twitching, then lowered back onto the ground and scurried off, disappearing into the darkness and clutter of the warehouse.

Jasper put her phone away and grabbed Peridot’s hand, tugging her towards the door.

“Fuck was that?” Peridot asked once she found her voice again.

“Wererat. We’re leaving.”

Peridot didn’t protest.

The paper mill was a bust; it was an active business with nothing particularly sinister or hidden about it. The few dark places Jasper could find while on their tour as “Safety Inspectors” turned out to be little more than hidey-holes for secret naps and smoke breaks.

The abandoned houses that Peridot could hunt down were similarly useless. One of them smelled like it was the local hot spot for teenage trysts, but aside from that there was nothing more than the smell of disuse and decay.

Which left, by the end of the day, the nursing home.

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Jasper muttered.

“When you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

“Thanks, Sherlock.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or if you actually recognized the quote.”

Jasper just looked over her shoulder and flashed Peridot a grin. She caught sight of a little pink darkening her cheeks and couldn’t help but smile a bit at the thought that she could get the smaller woman even the slightest bit flustered.

Jasper pushed the door open, holding it for Peridot, and then crossed over to the front desk. The man at the desk looked up, expression one of surprise, before giving Jasper a toothy grin.

“Welcome to Magnolia Manor!”

The man had a horsey face with big front teeth and he absolutely _reeked_ of cheap body spray.

She leaned on the counter.

“Hey, I’m Donna Winchester, and this is my sister, Martha. We’re looking into a place for our mother, and I was hoping we could get a tour?”

She saw the man’s expression turn to one of confusion as he looked from Jasper’s dark skin to Peridot’s pale complexion.

“Stepsisters,” Peridot chirped. The man seemed satisfied.

“Here, I’ll get Gary to get you that tour. He needs to get out of the back office anyhow. Yo, Gary!” The man leaned backwards, facing the open door to a back office.

“What, Ed!” Came a yell in response.

“Potentials lookin’ for a tour!”

A gaunt man with dark hair appeared in the doorway.

“Donna. Martha. Looking for a place for their old lady,” The first man, Ed, said as he gestured to Jasper and Peridot.

“I see,” said the gaunt one, Gary. His voice, when not yelling, was low and almost growly. He had a British accent, the kind that would make the average middle-aged suburban housewife go positively mad with lust.

Good thing Jasper wasn’t into that sort of thing.

“Follow me, then,” he said, motioning with his hand as he headed down one of the hallway. Jasper looked over at Peridot and made a little motion with her head before following after Gary.

“Now, your mother- how active is she?”

Jasper hung back a bit, allowing Peridot the opportunity to come up with the rest of their story as she sniffed quietly at the air, trying to filter through the smell of old people and death and sickness. She could feel the presence of spirits here, as well, but it was no surprise, not with as many deaths this place must have seen.

“She’s plenty active, but she’s got Dementia. She walked outside bare naked last week, and that’s just another in a long line of odd behaviors.”

“Sounds like she’d be safer in a group home, Miss- I’m sorry, my colleague didn’t tell me which one was which.”

“I’m Martha; my lovely sullen pain in the ass sister back there is Donna.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Jasper growled from behind.

“You love me,” Peridot taunted. Jasper rolled her eyes.

The buzz of conversation ahead of her wasn’t too distracting, but she still wasn’t able to sniff out anything particularly _off_ about a nursing home packed with the old and the dying.

She still couldn’t shake the feeling of _wrongness_ until she realized that she could smell everything in the nursing home, could smell Peridot, could smell the lingering scent of the front deskman’s awful body spray, but she couldn’t pinpoint any scent that might belong to the gaunt man in front of her.

She furrowed her brow. Odd. Very rarely did she ever find someone or something with no smell at all…

That usually meant they were magical in some way. Often, it meant they were spirits.

Jasper squinted at Gary’s back and let out a slow breath through her nose. There was definitely something odd about him, but…


	8. Grim Realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding the children doesn't go exactly as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so there's like a nonsexual violation of consent in this chapter just as a warning
> 
> this one doesn't have much otp going on and i apologize i promise the next one will be gayer

“Well that was spectacularly useless,” Peridot said grumpily as she slid into the passenger’s seat. “I mean, I got to practice lying on the fly, but that got us  _ nowhere. _ ”

“Mh,” Jasper said distractedly as she climbed into the driver’s seat and looked at the steering wheel. “The Brit is magical somehow. He doesn’t have a scent.”

Peridot raised an eyebrow.

“So he would be…”

“Dunno. Statistically speaking, probably a spirit of some kind. But he seems way too solid to just be your average ghost.”

“So… a grim after all?”

“Potentially. A nursing home does seem like a logical place to find an omen of death…”

Jasper sighed, though, leaning back in the seat.

“I’m not sure how to kill a grim. And unless I can catch him in the act… or get him to confess…” She shook her head. “We have to find those kids somehow.”

“So we… draw him out and question him. See what he knows. Use force if necessary.”

Jasper looked over at Peridot.

“Did you miss the part where I said I don’t know how to kill a grim?”

Peridot grinned.

“Give me like half an hour.”

Peridot settled back into her seat and closed her eyes with a sigh, holding her phone in her hand. Jasper leaned forward and settled against the steering wheel with a sigh of her own, taking a moment to rest and breathe.

“Silver,” Peridot finally said, snapping out of her trancelike state. “They’re sensitive to silver.”

“Son of a bitch,” Jasper growled and leaned back, her whole body moving with the force of her sigh. “I  _ hate _ how fucking  _ everything _ can be killed by silver!”

Peridot blinked and stared at Jasper.

“I take it that includes werewolves.”

“Of  _ course _ that includes werewolves,” Jasper growled. “A wolf gets hit by silver and our healing doesn’t work. We heal like any other human -- which means if you get a killing blow with silver…”

Jasper trailed off, and Peridot looked worried.

“I mean, I have some silver bullets and a silver blade or two, but I need gloves to handle them because they burn like a motherfucker.”

“Well… silver  _ is _ metal,” Peridot said after a moment, a little grin on her face. “And metal is my  _ thing _ , you know?”

Jasper huffed a little  _ huh _ at that, thoughtful.

“I have two long knives, a silver chain, and a clip of silver bullets. They’re in a the lockbox in the back with the white hazard symbol on the lid.”

“Got it. So we… lure him out, corner him, grill him?” Peridot asked. Jasper nodded with a grunt.

“Sounds about right. You wanna get him or me?”

“You. I couldn’t intimidate my way out of a wet paper bag.”

Jasper snorted.

“That wasn’t the plan, but okay.” She looked around the parking lot and pointed to a cluster of trees a little ways away from the entrance. “Wait behind those. I’ll get him out here.”

Peridot nodded and unbuckled her seat belt, climbing into the back of the van to get the silver items Jasper had directed her to. She passed the clip of silver bullets to Jasper, who loaded them into her beretta.

Jasper climbed out of the van with a little grunt and Peridot slipped out the back with both knives and the bundle of chain floating just behind her.

Once she was inside, Jasper leaned against the front desk and flashed a grin at- Ed? Ed.

“Where’s your colleague?” She asked. “Gary.”

Ed called back again and Gary poked his head out of the office door.

He pointed at Jasper, who waved.

“I was wondering if you’d want to go for a walk outside. I’d love to get to know some of the people who’d be caring for my mother.”

Gary looked confused, for a moment, but glanced at the clock.

“Of course. I could take a break now.”

She inclined her head towards the door, and Gary followed her. The strange  _ void _ of his lack of scent was unsettling.

“Sorry for the awkward request,” she started once the man was outside with her, heading slowly towards where Peridot was waiting. “I just wanted to get you alone.”

He let out a bark of laughter.

“You’re not really my type, Miss Donna.”

Jasper perked up and shook her head, putting on a show of nervous laughter.

“Oh! Oh, no, don’t worry. You’re not my type, either. I really just wanted to ask you a few questions about the area.”

“Well, I haven’t been living here long, but perhaps I could answer them.”

Jasper gave a little nod and flashed a smile at Gary.

“I’ve been looking at the news, and all those children disappearing- do you think this is a safe neighborhood? I’m not sure if Martha would want to bring my niece here to visit mum if she’s in danger…”

“Oh, there’s nothing to worry about. This area is perfectly safe. You and your sister have nothing to worry about.”

“Mmhmm,” Jasper murmured. They were getting close to the trees. “What do you think about them? Having so many kids disappear…”

“It’s awful,” Gary said. Jasper could feel his gaze burning her back. “I’ve seen the kids coming in with their parents to visit family, and it’s…” There was a moment of silence. “Children are our future. That someone would take them like this is inconceivable.”

They reached the trees and Jasper hung back a bit, allowing Gary to catch up. Her beretta left its holster and she leveled it at the gaunt man.

“Alright, Gary. Where are the kids.”

Gary looked surprised, but unafraid.

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.”

“The bullets are silver, asshole. Where are the kids or you take one to the head.”

Surprise turned into fear, and then anger.

“What do you think you’re doing? I had nothing to do with those disappearances!”

“Then why are there witness accounts of a black dog with glowing eyes seen in the area?”

“ _ Do I look like a bloody dog to you?! _ ”

Jasper made a little motion with her head and silver chains whipped from behind the trees and wrapped around Gary, dragging him back out of sight. Jasper stepped behind the trees as well, to see Peridot holding the man immobile, smoking where the silver contacted his body. Even the smoke had no scent. The silver blades hovered on either side of Gary’s head, and the man was writhing and making pained gasping, choking sounds.

“Give it up. We know you’re a grim, and we know you’ve got something to do with the disappearances. Cooperate, or we’ll start peeling you like an apple.”

She heard a little  _ ew _ from Peridot and had to fight to keep her gruff, intimidating act up instead of snorting in amusement.

Gary sizzled, and his form seemed to jitter and blink. He let out a pained, gasping cry.

“Let me go-!” he breathed out, panting raggedly.

“What’ve you done with the kids?” Jasper growled.

“I don’t-” He let out a strained cry as the chains tightened around him, the sizzling and smoking growing worse, parts of his form starting to burn away. “The warehouse! W-we took them to the warehouse!”

Jasper blinked and straightened up. The warehouse they’d been to already? She hadn’t- smelled- fuck.

Gary’s form jittered again and suddenly, where the man had been was a large black dog, writhing in the chains before the change in form allowed him to break free and taking off at a dead run across the parking lot.

Jasper stepped out and raised her arm. Fired. The grim let out a pained yelp as it fell to the ground, unmoving, starting to smoke. In moments, the body had disappeared, burned away and carried off on the wind.

Peridot stepped up beside Jasper, watching, pale.

“…that was a person.”

“A spirit,” Jasper grunted. Peridot shook her head.

“A  _ person. _ He spoke. I thought if he gave up the information-”

“That I was bluffing? That we’d spare him?” Jasper looked down at Peridot for a moment. The smaller woman flinched and looked away. “Listen. Even if we found the kids, who’s to stop him from taking more?”

“Us,” Peridot mumbled, voice low and sad.

“Exactly. Us. There’s one less kidnapper in the world. We won.”

Peridot sighed and started heading towards the van. Jasper gave her a moment before following.

Before she reached the van, Peridot gasped and started a bit.

“We!”

“Huh?”

“We! He said  _ we _ took them to the warehouse!”

Jasper groaned and cursed.

“Of course.” She motioned towards the van. “Kids first, accomplice later.”

This time, when they reached the warehouse, they used proper flashlights. Jasper swept hers across the derelict old building, looking at the shapes of the abandoned items inside its walls.

It still only smelled of rat and decay.

They were silent as they crossed the building, heading to the back. Jasper heard her footsteps echo on metal and stopped. Stomped. Another sound of metal echoing beneath her feet.

“Trapdoor,” she grunted, continuing to walk until she no longer heard the metallic echoing. She ran the beam of light across the floor and found a handle, yanking the door up and open.

It was only the overwhelming smell of  _ rat _ that greeted her, a cloud of dust and a wave of warm air. She shined her flashlight into the hole to judge the distance, then dropped down.

It was only a step or two into the room that she realized that something was very, very wrong.

Peridot landed behind her and Jasper made a motion with her hand, for the moment stunned and silent.

The walls were lined with cages large enough to hold humans, and some of them did. There were five children, some curled up, some crying, some just looking at her, numb.

Five of the missing children. Five children and three very, very large rats.

A growl started in Jasper’s chest. Wererats. That’s why she hadn’t smelled humans. They  _ weren’t _ human. Not any more.

She walked further into the room, watching as one of the rats transformed, with the sound of crackling bones, into a dirty-faced little blond boy. Behind her, Peridot gasped.

“Are they all…”

“Yeah. Rats. Every last one.” Jasper sighed and shook her head. “At least… at least they’re alive.”

There was a thump behind them, and a vaguely familiar voice immediately afterward.

“Better’n I can say for ya’ll.”

It was Ed. Ed with the big teeth and too much body spray.

She cursed. She should have known. Should have- should have realized–

The beam from her flashlight moved shakily as she switched hands and pulled her beretta, leveling it at Ed.

“You’re the one who turned them?”

The man laughed.

“The Red Fangs need new recruits,” he said. Then he was flashing a toothy grin. “You smell like a werewolf. We could use someone like you.”

“Fuck you,” Jasper grunted. “You turned  _ kids. _ Did you even give them a choice?”

“They followed the doggy,” Ed laughed. “They’ll learn to like it, just like I did.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Of course. I’m a rat.”

Ed shifted, pops and crackles as bones rearranged beneath his skin. The massive rat leaped forward, and Jasper moved with the same reflexive speed. She shoved Peridot out of the way of the rat’s attack and fired three times, the sounds amplified in the metal room. The rat slumped to the ground, but continued forward another half a foot with its momentum.

Jasper stood, panting more from anger than exertion, sensitive ears ringing from the shots.

The rat lay there, unmoving, and Jasper fired two more shots into it, still panting, sweat beaded up on her forehead.

It was easy. Quick. She shouldn’t feel like she’d gone ten rounds with the damn thing.

Peridot pushed herself up and Jasper glanced over at her before casting a look around the room. She was trying to slow her heart rate down, but the sight of the kids- every damn one of them wererats now–

She looked back at Peridot in the low light. The smaller woman looked pale and shaken, almost ill.

“Don’t tell me you feel sorry for him,” Jasper growled. Peridot shook her head.

“Not him. They’re  _ kids, _ Jasper.”

“Yeah. Let’s… get them home.”


	9. Sparkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper and Peridot get a truly legendary job.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the updates might slow down some soon; don't worry too much! i'm going to do my level best to keep this up as long as i can! >w<
> 
> sorry this one is short! orz

“You couldn’t have done anything,” Peridot said softly. “You didn’t know in time.”

Jasper sighed from where she was lying on the motel bed, legs over the edge and arms sort of half-spread.

“I know. I know. I just… they were only kids. Children. They didn’t deserve that.”

Peridot flopped back on her own bed as well, letting out a heavy sigh.

“You did what you could. I’ve told you this.”

Jasper closed her eyes and tried to breath slow and deep.

“At least they know what they’re in for. Better’n I got.”

“You didn’t know?”

“Not until it happened,” Jasper said with a sigh.

“So- what did you-”

Jasper’s phone dinged, and she welcomed the distraction.

_ Missing Unicorn. Crombey, NH. B $1000 by owner. You’re welcome. _

Jasper let out a little huff of laughter. Leave it to a psychic to get her out of a heavy conversation.

“New job. We’re gonna get us a unicorn.”

“…Jasper.” Peridot sat up; she could hear the rustle of the fabric and the creaking of the springs.

“No, I’m not kidding.”

“…how do you even kill a unicorn?”

“Did I say kill? We’re catching it. Alive.” Jasper pushed herself up and gave Peridot a dumb grin. Peridot returned it. “This’ll be fun.”

The drive up to New Hampshire took them two days. Jasper was still down, the energy in the van mostly subdued save the brief moments when the best classic rock songs came on the radio. But, slowly, she started to improve.

New job. New problems. Catching a unicorn seemed like an easy enough job; it’s just a horse. She wasn’t sure how a unicorn managed to end up in New Hampshire, but she didn’t question the manticore in Wyoming, either. She supposed beasties could immigrate just as well as humans. Maybe the manticore had been someone’s escaped pet, too. Rich people.

By the time they were properly into New England, her mood had raised at least a little bit. They had to leave each job behind them to be able to do the next. She’d check in on the kids every once in a while, make sure they’re coping well enough… but she had to focus on the next job.

So it was some rich fuck missing a pretty horse. Whatever. It was still money. And as quickly as they were finding jobs, between her contact and Peridot’s forum, she was actually able to put some money back, padding her savings, despite having to split things evenly with Peridot.

It was nice, actually. And while she’d thought she preferred being alone… being with Peridot wasn’t too bad. She rather enjoyed it, actually. The smaller woman would occasionally go off and start babbling about this, that, and the other, but for the most part it was a pleasant buzz, and the way her voice changed in tone and pitch was at the very least amusing and enjoyable, if not actually interesting.

The unicorn’s owner’s house was easy enough to find, a sprawling estate outside of the city proper.

“Her name is Sparkle,” the short, chubby man in a powder-blue button up had said. His name was something long with numbers after it, not something Jasper was inclined to remember. The affairs of those rich enough to afford to buy pets such as a goddamn unicorn were not something she actually gave a single flying fuck about.

But he was paying. And that she did care about.

“She likes sugar cubes and honeycrisp apples,” he’d said. “And when you sing to her. She loves showtunes.”

“Are we talking Phantom of the Opera showtunes or Hamilton showtunes,” Peridot had asked, embroiling herself and the unicorn’s owner in a conversation about the perfect tunes to lure her in with. Jasper had just sighed, amused at Peridot’s eagerness and surprisingly not useless knowledge of Broadway. The distraught owner even seemed to relax a bit while Peridot chatted with him.

“So how do we actually  _ catch _ a unicorn?” Peridot asked as they walked back to the van.

“Traditionally, one could be lulled into a false sense of security by the presence of a virgin.”

“Virginity is a construct,” Peridot said. Jasper looked over at Peridot and raised an eyebrow. The hacker looked almost indignant. “What? I  _ have _ had sex before. You think just because I spend my life on the computer, I can’t get laid?”

Jasper held her hands up.

“Message received. Not a stereotype.”

“ _ Thank _ you,” Peridot said, cheeks red.

Jasper found herself wondering about the details there and did her best to change her train of thought.. Did not need to be thinking about that, no. There was a job to deal with. They had a unicorn to catch.

They climbed into the van and Jasper couldn’t help but grin a bit as she started it up, looking over at Peridot, who was still red.

“So tell me… did you do it dressed up as Percy?”

Peridot jumped and somehow managed to turn  _ redder, _ refusing to make eye contact. Jasper let out a rumbly laugh. She wasn’t gonna lie; that was fucking  _ adorable. _

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

“Ass.”

Jasper laughed again as she pulled into the driveway, headed towards the stable that “Sparkle” had been kept in. Rich people and their sprawling estates, fuck.

“Well, if we don’t have a virgin, I suppose we could just brute force it. I could hold my own against a horse any day.”

“It’s a magic horse with a knife on its head, Jasper,” Peridot grumped, arms crossed and knees pulled up as she looked out the window. Jasper glanced over at her with a little grin.

“Don’t be like that, baby, you know I love you~” she taunted. Peridot raised her eyebrows and blushed again.

Really, she made it so  _ easy. _

They were quiet for a little while, Jasper still grinning sedately as she drove.

“So, any other ideas on how to catch a unicorn?” she finally said as she pulled into the little lot beside the stables. Peridot grunted and pulled her phone out, still a bit red.

“Any chance you might have an enchanted bridle back there?” Peridot finally asked. Jasper sighed.

“Nope. Haven’t really had many problems with horses. I do have a tranq gun.”

“Seriously?”

“This isn’t my first live capture, Peridot.”

Peridot slid out of the van; Jasper stepped out as well, circling to the back of the van, Peridot coming from the other side.

“So if we tranq it, how’ll we get it back?” the smaller woman asked.

Jasper grinned and brought an arm up, flexing for Peridot’s benefit and patting her bicep. Peridot turned red and looked away.

“Superhuman strength.”

“Horse,” Peridot said dumbly, before finding her words properly. “Horses are big.”

“So’m I.”

“…I’m getting chains in case Your Mightiness has her hands full.” Peridot said.

Peridot pulled the coil of chains from the back of the van as Jasper climbed in and lifted a rifle off the side, rummaging around to grab a few tranquilizer rounds and loading one into the rifle.

“Time to track a unicorn,” Jasper said. Her voice was gruff and growly, but a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. This was ridiculous. A unicorn. A fucking unicorn.

She slung the rifle across her back and shut the van doors, sauntering towards the stable. Peridot stumbled after her, coming up beside her after just a moment or two.

The stable was large and lavish, with only one roomy stall. Instead of smelling like horse, the place smelled  _ sweet, _ almost sickly-sweet, the scent making Jasper’s nose twitch.

She hoped it wasn’t this bad for Peridot, because the scent was strong and cloying in her nose.

On the bright side, she could probably follow this trail blindfolded.

“It smells so nice in here!” Peridot said, her voice almost a little chirp.

“Glad you’re enjoying it,” Jasper grunted. Because she certainly wasn’t.

“She escaped while her trainer was exercising her, he said,” Peridot murmured, looking around the barn. “Think you’d follow a scent better from the paddock?”

Jasper grunted and nodded, trying to breathe through her mouth. The smell was overwhelmingly sweet and it was starting to make her dizzy.

She stepped outside again, into the paddock, and saw the kicked-out portion of the fence that Sparkle had escaped through. She climbed over it and headed towards the treeline, following the strong scent left by the unicorn, despite it being days old at this point. Christ, it smelled awful. It just got worse the longer she had to smell it. She’d prefer decay to  _ this. _

Peridot followed behind her, having to move faster to keep up with her gait. Jasper was in a hurry, wanting to get away from this stench as soon as she could possibly manage.

The forest wasn’t very densely wooded; Jasper didn’t have to fight her way through the trees and underbrush. The unicorn would have had an easy time getting through as well. Peridot, however, had a few small issues at times, legs a bit too short to comfortably step over some things. The bundle of chains hovering behind her would bob every so often as she tripped or stumbled.

Jasper made a grumbly sound as the scent grew stronger and they made their way out into a bit of a clearing. The area was soaked in the too-sweet scent of unicorn, like it had spent quite a long time there.

Jasper stepped into the center of the clearing and sighed before taking in another deep breath, trying to pinpoint the most recent direction the unicorn had gone.

There was a rustling a ways off and Jasper froze, waved Peridot back into the trees before slipping out of sight herself, movements quiet and predatory even in her human form.

The unicorn stepped into the clearing almost immediately afterwards.

Sparkle was lily-white and shimmering, the size of a large deer, with cloven hooves and a tufted tail swishing through the air. A two-foot-long horn rose from its forehead, glistening in the sunlight breaking through the treetops. Behind Jasper, Peridot let out a little gasp of awe.

Even Jasper herself was distracted, momentarily, by the sheer beauty of the beast before them.

Then she slung her rifle off her shoulder and leveled it at the unicorn. Fired. The dart buried in its pearly flank.

Sparkle leapt into the air with a pained squeal, twisting around before taking off back into the forest.

Jasper swung her rifle back over her shoulder and took off as well, following the crashing sounds through the woods, leaping over roots and undergrowth like she belonged.

Peridot crashed along behind her, less at home in the wild than the werewolf.

It was exhilarating, running through the woods after prey, red mist pulling at her vision just from the sheer  _ glee _ of hunting freely.

It was simple to keep up with the fleeing unicorn. It would be hers soon.


	10. Shine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper and Peridot come up against their hardest foe yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> breather episode? breather episode.

Jasper leaped over roots and scrubby underbrush, ducking under low-hanging branches, at home speeding through the woods with a huge, animal grin across her face. The tranquilizer would take effect soon, and the unicorn would go down, her prey defenseless and ripe for the taking.

She could hear the crashing in front of her still, above the sound of her own ragged, excited breathing, and then it abruptly stopped. She pulled up to see an island of white amidst the green and brown of the forest.

The ground around the unicorn was dappled with the sun streaming through the leaves, a beam of light making its way into the forest and illuminating the shimmering form of the collapsed unicorn.

The sweet smell was so much less offensive when it was radiating from the body of her prey.

She slowed her steps, heart racing, still panting raggedly from excitement instead of exertion. Blood pumped through her, heart beating in her fingertips as she stepped towards the unicorn.

It really was beautiful. Its pelt shimmered and shined and reflected in the beam of light filtering through the trees, almost like crystallized sugar. Its pale mane pooled beneath it in the leaves like a river of silken mallow fluff, glistening as a gentle whisper of wind blew across it.

She relaxed as she circled the unicorn, looking over it to make sure it wasn’t damaged in any way. The beast seemed unreal, supernaturally pure, like the dirt and leaves beneath it wouldn’t even mar the crystalline fur.

The unicorn’s two-foot horn twisted from its forehead, a pale, shimmering piece of spiraled taffy, just barely tinted pink.

Jasper reached down to touch it, and the unicorn suddenly moved, dragging the razor-sharp tip of its horn across the palm of Jasper’s hand and cutting a deep gash. Jasper leapt back with a curse as the unicorn jumped up, pawing the loam beneath its cloven hooves and lowering its head.

She threw herself to the side with a surprised yelp as the unicorn charged, horn lowered and shimmering.

The unicorn pulled up just behind Jasper and moved, kicking out with powerful hind legs. Jasper let out another curse, just off-balance enough from her dodge for the kick to land and send her flying forward and into the ground.

She heard Peridot laughing and growled, shoving herself upwards and turning to leap at the unicorn, briefly getting a hand on the beast’s flank before being kicked back again. Her cut hand left a stripe of red across the white fur that made the shimmering fur look like a stripe of red rock candy.

The unicorn disappeared into the underbrush, and Jasper was left sitting on the ground with Peridot laughing uncontrollably six feet away.

It took Peridot a minute or two to calm down.

“I take it the tranqs don’t work on unicorns.”

Jasper rolled her eyes as she pushed herself to her feet. She looked at the gash across her hand and wiped it on her cargo pants.

“You think?” she grunted. It wasn’t a question.

“Let me try next time,” Peridot said, laughter still in her voice. “You track her and I’ll get her home.”

“Ha. Ha. Twenty bucks says you fuck it up too.”

“Twenty bucks and a steak dinner says I don’t.”

“Deal. Godspeed.”

Peridot took off in the direction the unicorn had disappeared in and Jasper followed, after a few paces catching up and passing her to follow the scent. She raised her cut hand to her lips and licked the blood still seeping from it, healing already taking effect but the ache and stickiness _incredibly annoying._

There were broken branches and trampled plants along the route that the unicorn had taken. Jasper didn’t even need to track it visually, though, not with just how overwhelming the unicorn’s scent was for her. It was nauseatingly sweet again now that she was no longer as eager about tracking prey after said prey had proved to be a _pain in her ass._

The unicorn was standing in a clearing ahead of them. Just- _standing,_ tufted tail swinging, facing away from them.

Jasper briefly mourned the steak dinner she would owe Peridot. It looked like this would be an easy catch with Peridot’s floating chain.

Jasper hung back as Peridot crept forward, chain at the ready. Jasper saw the unicorn’s ear twitch towards them and then flick forward.

Peridot’s chain darted through the air and the unicorn skipped merrily away, kicking up its heels and making a sound that Jasper was almost certain was laughter.

Peridot leaped forward with a breathy grunt, directing the chains with wide movements of her body to swing around, chasing the unicorn as it pranced through the trees, circling around the area instead of fleeing.

Jasper herself was laughing at this point, watching as the unicorn led Peridot on a merry chase between the trees, dodging every attempt Peridot made to wrap the chain around it.

Peridot was jumping, turning, running, panting heavily and making her own angry growling sounds after a few minutes. It was, Jasper had to admit, hilarious.

“You almost had it that time! Keep trying!”

“Shut the fuck up, Jasper!”

“Ah, missed again! You’ve got this, babe!”

“ _Jasper I swear to god!_ ”

“Think of the steak, Peri!”

“ _I’m going to cut a steak from your ass!_ ”

Peridot let the chains fall to the ground and instead started leaping after the unicorn barehanded, trying to grab at it’s tufted tail. Jasper was practically rolling, and even the unicorn was making snorting almost-whinnying sounds as it pranced about just out of Peridot’s reach.

Peridot finally collapsed against a tree, wheezing faintly as she settled onto the ground and made a motion towards Jasper.

“You win.”

Jasper’s laughter quieted, but she was still grinning as she walked past Peridot and ruffled the smaller woman’s hair.

She cracked her knuckles out in front of her and headed towards the unicorn.

“Let me show you how it’s done.”

Jasper’s back hit the tree next to Peridot in moments, the werewolf wheezing from the kick to the gut. She let out a string of curses and shoved herself back towards the unicorn.

She managed to dodge the next kick, leaping forward to get her arms around the beast’s neck.

The unicorn took off running after that, and Jasper’s legs worked double-time to try and keep up, stumbling and feeling her grip loosening as the unicorn began to outpace her.

She hit the dirt again and groaned as the unicorn took off further into the forest once more.

Peridot came up behind Jasper, wheezing still, but this time from laughter.

“How it’s done, huh?”

“Bite me,” Jasper grunted as she shoved herself upright, beating dirt and leaves off her clothes. “This is ridiculous.”

“Yes,” Peridot said, still giggling a little. “Take out a manticore no problem, can’t hold on to a horse for shit.”

“I swear that thing’s smarter than a horse.”

“Probably,” Peridot said. “I think she’s having fun.”

“It can have fun back in the stable,” Jasper grunted as she headed in the direction the unicorn had run off in.

The damn thing had stopped for them again, this time grazing on a scrubby little growth at the base of a tree. Its ears flicked in their direction as they approached, and Jasper sighed.

“It knows we’re here,” she said with a sigh.

“Circle around to the other side and we can get her in a pincer movement,” Peridot said. Jasper shrugged and set off to obey, figuring it couldn’t go much worse than their first attempts.

It went worse than their first attempts.

Jasper and Peridot came in from opposite sides of the unicorn, who remained still until they were inches from it. Then it started and took off, leaving Jasper and Peridot to literally slam into each other and fall to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Jasper found her face inches from Peridot’s, and it took her a heartbeat and a glance at her lips before she realized just how _close_ she was, close enough to study the smaller woman’s face in detail, smooth skin and freckles and a little line over her nose like it was always wrinkled. She scrambled away, disentangling their limbs and shuffling apart, a flush creeping up her face that she pretended not to notice.

“That went well,” Jasper said, refusing to make eye contact with Peridot, who was blushing a bit herself.

“Yeah. Super.”

“New plan?”

“New plan.”

Peridot approached the unicorn unarmed this time, creeping forward with her hands outstretched and wary. She was singing softly.  
“ _In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee…_ ”

  
Jasper was the one with the chains this time, coming up behind the unicorn while Peridot approached from the front. The unicorn seemed entranced, though its ears did flick briefly backwards as a twig cracked beneath Jasper’s boot.

“ _In five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes, how do you measure, a year in the liiiii~fe…_ ”

Jasper raised the chain as Peridot moved close enough to the unicorn to pets its nose, the beast making little huffing noises and flicking its ears about eagerly.

Peridot raised her other hand to signal Jasper to wait, and the werewolf sighed and lowered the chains.

“ _How about lo~o~ove, measure in love, sea~sons of love…_ ”

Peridot pet up and down the unicorn’s snout, just below the horn, and before long it turned slightly to reveal its flanks, jerking its head just a bit.

Peridot climbed onto its back carefully, and Jasper just _gaped._ Seriously? Seriously.

The unicorn began walking slowly through the woods with Peridot on its back, still singing. Jasper just… followed, unsure of what else to _do,_ since it was walking in the direction of the stable in the first place.

When the song ended, though, the unicorn took off at a gallop through the forest, and Peridot hunkered down and held onto the silken mane for dear life. Jasper had to go into a dead run to try and even keep the beast in sight.

They broke out into the clearing the stable was in, Jasper trailing a ways behind Peridot and the unicorn, even sprinting at max speed.

The unicorn was back in its stall when Jasper made it into the stable, panting raggedly and leaned over, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath.

Peridot came bouncing from the stable all breathless and eager.

“I did it! Jasper! I rode a unicorn! Jasper! Did you see? I- holy fuck I rode a fucking unicorn-”

Peridot bounded to Jasper and pressed one hand on each side of her head before shoving their lips together in an excited kiss. She pulled away grinning and started practically skipping out towards the van.

“I rode a unicorn!”

Jasper watched blankly at Peridot’s receding figure, face red and mind going a mile a minute.

What the fuck?


	11. What Happens in Vegas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are happening in Vegas. Things that involve bodies drained of blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I missed two days of updates! It's been a rough couple of days, but things are looking up! Hopefully I'm back to daily now! >w<

“There’s a string of exsanguinations in Vegas,” Peridot said, settling down on her hotel bed.

Jasper looked up from her phone and made a little hm sound. She’d spent the last few days trying to figure out if Peridot had even realized what she’d done. So far, the smaller woman seemed to be utterly oblivious, and Jasper found herself having trouble looking at Peridot without feeling heat on her cheeks.

“Bounty?”

“None so far, but I mean, this is probably a vampire, right? We should stop it.”

“I don’t want to drive across the country for a damn vampire with no bounty,” Jasper grunted, looking at the currently-off TV instead of Peridot.

“C’mon, Jasp, people are dying. Don’t you want to be a hero?”

“I’m not the hero type. And you just want to do this because it might be a vampire.”

“This is wholly altruistic.”

“You are lying.”

“C’mon, Jasper, I’m doing well! I just want to see a vampire!”

“And then kill it.”

“And then kill it, exactly.”

Jasper sighed and shook her head. She wouldn’t hear the end of it if she didn’t cave, and… well, vampires have plenty of weaknesses to exploit…

“I’m going to regret this,” She growled. Peridot let out a whoop.

“Hell yeah! I’ll get the van packed!”

The trip to Vegas took three days. Three days in the van beside Peridot, casting little glances and blushing and trying to figure out why she kept having those responses. This was ridiculous. There was no reason for her to be reacting like this, especially after Peridot seemed to be completely unaffected.

She knew what this was, of course. Peridot was cute. Peridot was cute and enthusiastic. Peridot was cute, and enthusiastic, and had kissed her. And they’ve been stuck together for over two weeks now.

But it was ridiculous. Yes, she liked Peridot. She was obnoxious at times, and pushy, and a brat. But she wasn’t unpleasant.

But that was no reason for her to get all blushy and have her heart skip a beat whenever Peridot grinned at her. Ridiculous. She was better than this. Peridot was partner material, yes, but she wasn’t partner material. Jasper had no interest in going through that again. Especially not with that goofy little dork. And especially not with this kind of job.

The ride was long, yes, but not bad. Jasper was a bit surly and quiet and pensive, but even then she was enjoying Peridot babbling on between bouts of writing fanfiction.

Peridot was apparently working on a Percierre Vampire AU, and Jasper wasn’t sure if that was adorable or utterly and completely ridiculous.

Jasper hadn’t known what an “AU” was when Peridot first mentioned it, but it had been explained to her in great and lurid detail once Peridot realized she had a captive audience.

Peridot would occasionally pipe up with a question about vampire physiology or behavior, and Jasper helped where she could. She was by no means a vampire expert, but she did have a bit of experience.

She drew the line at whether vampires could actually get a boner, “since it’s a blood thing.”

“Why. Are you asking that.”

“Because I’m writing smut and this is a legitimate question.”

“Second question: why do you think I would know that.”

“You know a lot more than I do!”

“Not about that.”

“I just thought- they’re so seductive, so you might’ve-”

“Fucked it before I killed it? Peridot. What the hell.”

Peridot sighed and leaned back in the chair, tapping away almost sullenly, frowning and blushing a bit. Jasper’s face was red with embarrassment at the insinuation that she would have…

“Can we stay at the Luxor?”

“What?” Jasper asked. “Do you know how expensive that would be?”

“But I love the aesthetic! And besides, all the bodies were found on the Strip! We might as well enjoy Vegas while we’re there!”

“You planning on paying for it?”

“If that’s what it takes.”

“Great. You’re paying. We can stay at the Luxor.”

“Aww yeah~” Peridot said with a grin, returning to her writing with a goofy grin on her face.   
Jasper glanced over and returned her attention to the road. Damn her and that cute fucking smile.

Peridot did not, actually, pay for them to stay in the Luxor. Peridot lifted the data of a celebrity who was a notorious wife-beater, and he paid for them to stay in the Luxor. Jasper made a mental note to order as much room service as she could stand to eat on that piece of human refuse’s card.

The bodies had all been found in nooks and crannies on the Las Vegas Strip, and Peridot had already loaded them into her phone for easier access. After they dropped their stuff off in their hotel room, they went out to examine the crime scenes.

“There’s an aquarium in the Mandalay-”

“You were the one eager to see a vampire, Peridot,” Jasper grumbled.

“Well, yeah, but we’re not gonna see one during the day.”

Jasper sighed.

“We can go to the aquarium after we check out the morgue.” There had been another exsanguination while they were on the road. Peridot grinned broadly, and Jasper looked away. This needed to stop. It was very distracting. And all it had taken was one kiss to get her like this- she really was kind of pathetic, huh? One kiss. That’s it.

Jasper shook her head. This wasn’t something she needed to be lingering on, not with a job in front of them. While vampires had plenty of weaknesses, they were still dangerous, and she needed to be prepared.

And above all else, they really needed to know if it was actually a vampire doing this.

Peridot spent their trip looking around the Strip in awe, and several times Jasper had to stop to let her catch up through the moving throng of people. But once they found the nook that the most recent death had occurred, Peridot sobered a bit. It didn’t look like anything out of the ordinary save the police tape still surrounding it.

Jasper ducked under the tape and started breathing deeply, sniffing the air, trying to take in whatever scents she could.

People. That’s about all she could smell. The police, the tourists, the deceased. There were too many smells to pick any specific one out, and with the air as hot and arid as it was in the desert, just the act of breathing as deeply as she was almost burned her lungs and nose and the back of her throat.

“Picking anything up?” Peridot asked, lingering outside the caution tape and keeping an eye out for anyone coming. Jasper looked over at her and shook her head grimly.

“No. People and heat. I don’t smell anything that doesn’t smell human. A vampire might’ve been here, but they’re hard to smell even without all this contamination.”

Peridot nodded and sort of beckoned Jasper back towards her.

“C’mon, then. Let’s get to the morgue.”

Jasper nodded and grunted, ducking back under the police tape. If she hadn’t found any scents at the newest site, she certainly wouldn’t pick any up at the oldest.

“Agent Johnson, this is Agent Gates. We’re here looking into the string of murders on the strip,” Jasper said to the woman working the front desk at the morgue, flashing her FBI badge so that she wouldn’t get a good enough look to ding it as fake. Both her and Peridot were in immaculate black suits. “Do you still have the Jane Doe from last night?”

“Let me get the coroner,” the woman said, moving to the phone. She paged the coroner over the intercom, and a haggard-looking man with glasses and bags under his eyes showed up.

“Johnson. Gates.” She indicated Peridot. “Could we see the body from last night?”

“Nothing much to see,” the man said, exhaustion in his voice. “But follow me.”

The coroner pulled out a drawer with the the ghostly-pale body of a woman on it, covered by a sheet. Jasper glanced over at Peridot, who to her credit only paled a little bit. She was getting more used to this. Jasper smiled a rueful little smile.

“Autopsy shows no signs of drugs or sexual assault, just alcohol in her system. Cause of death was exsanguination via a two-inch incision in her femoral artery. There was no signs of a struggle. Time of death was roughly one in the morning.”

Jasper nodded, looking pensive.

“And this is the same as the other victims?”

“Every one, to a T.”

“Can I see the incision?”

The man nodded and pulled the sheet back. Jasper saw Peridot turn around, cheeks reddening. She wanted to give the body privacy. Cute.

Jasper leaned in, pressing two fingers against the incision in the woman’s thigh and making a soft little  _ hm  _ sound, thoughtful.

It didn’t look like it was made by fangs. It looked like a small knife, a clean cut with a sharp blade.

“Do you know if the police have any leads?”

“Not that I know of. All the victims so far don’t seem to have anything in common. Men, women, different ages, different body types and hair colors. Serial killers tend to have a type, don’t they?”

“Mmn,” Jasper nodded. “Not always, but this does seem to be an… odd case. And you said nothing but alcohol in her system?”

“Not even enough to make someone her weight drunk.”

“Huh,” Jasper said thoughtfully. She pulled the sheet back up to cover the body. “Thank you for your help. You have a good day.”

The man nodded tiredly, and Jasper gave a lazy little two-finger salute before patting Peridot on the shoulder and heading towards the door.

Once they were outside and headed towards the van, Jasper started taking her jacket off and loosening the tie around her neck. She hated having to dress up in this kind of weather, but they had to look the part. Peridot put her sunglasses on and grinned at Jasper.

“You know the difference between you and me?” the smaller woman started. Jasper just looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “…you make this look  _ good. _ ” Peridot shot Jasper finger-guns and a grin.

Jasper’s cheeks tinted pink.

“That’s not how the quote goes. And besides,” Jasper flashed Peridot a grin, “You  _ do _ make it look good. Snappy.”

The little blush that crossed Peridot’s face was adorable.

“I mean,” Jasper started, trying to catch herself and make it seem less flirty, “I still look better. But you can work it.”

“Ass,” Peridot said. Jasper didn’t hear any insult in her voice.

“Anyway, I’m not sure we’re dealing with a vampire. A clean cut to completely drain the body, with no blood at the crime scene…”

“There’s like a gallon and a half of blood in the human body. Can a vampire drink all of that in one go?”

“I don’t think anyone can do that in one go. And to drink from the femoral artery cleanly they’d have to shotgun the damn thing.”

“And there was no blood at the crime scene…” Peridot said quietly as she buckled up. Jasper started the van.

“And no pattern to the kills, either. This might not even be our sort of thing.”

Peridot looked crestfallen. Jasper sighed.

“But then, there’s no reason for a human to be draining people like that… so we might as well look into what it  _ could _ be. There’s more than the traditional vampire that drinks blood.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah. Some fairies, there’s a Filipino beast that does it, viking draugr. Most religions and mythologies have some kind of blood-sucking creature somewhere. We might not be dealing with a vampire, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t dealing with something up our alley.”

Peridot made a little  _ aah _ sound, nodding slowly. She looked a bit disappointed.

“I promise, if this isn’t a vampire, we’ll go and find you a vampire.” Jasper said with a sigh. Peridot brightened considerably. “Stop looking at me like that; I just don’t want to hear you complain,” Jasper grumped.

Their visit to the police station didn’t earn them any new information. Random victims, all drained of their blood from an incision in their thigh. No blood at the scene, no signs of a struggle. Just bloodless husks. No leads.

When they returned to the van, Jasper just gave a longsuffering sigh.

“This is going to take fucking forever. Back to the crime scenes, I guess.”

Peridot let out a pathetic little whine.

“I thought we were going to the aquarium…”

“Peridot. The job comes first. Once we’re done, we can spend a day or two here before we move on. But we have bigger fish to fry right now.”

“…can we go see one of those tiger shows, too?”

“Most of those trained animal shows use lycanthropes and shifters, but sure.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“If you shift voluntarily, your human consciousness is mostly in control. Easy to train, easy to work with. Mostly harmless. We’re only really dangerous when threatened or on the full moon…” Jasper went quiet for a moment or two. “Or when pregnant,” she said, pensive.

Peridot raised an eyebrow.

“Pregnant?”

“Some wolves can get feral and dangerous when pregnant. And… it isn’t safe for a lycanthrope to carry a child, either. One or both usually end up dying. If the fetus is strong enough to survive shifting in the womb, it likely tears the mother apart on its way out.”

Peridot grew quiet.

“…you know from experience?” she asked softly. Jasper glanced over at Peridot’s expression and almost bristled a bit.

“Not the kind you’re thinking of,” she grunted.

“So-”

“You have the locations of the other crime scenes in your phone right? Which one’s the closest?” Jasper asked, her voice low and growly as she abruptly changed the subject. Peridot frowned and pouted, leaning back into the seat and pulling her phone out.

“First one was near the Excalibur,” she grumbled.

The van rolled into the Excalibur parking lot and Jasper jumped out with a grunt, not even speaking to Peridot and trying not to think about what she’d said before. She didn’t  _ like _ seeing Peridot upset like that, but she didn’t want to have to revisit…

She shook her head. It was her own damn fault for bringing it up in the first place. Maybe some small part of her really did want Peridot to know more about her past, but… now was not the time. She didn’t know  _ what _ the right time would be, but it was not now. Maybe not ever. She didn’t want to see the pity in Peridot’s eyes.

Peridot led her to where the first attack had been, and she looked around at the remains of police tape. This location had probably been irreparably and uselessly contaminated by time and thrill-seekers.

But there was no blood here, either. No dark stains on the pavement. It was a dark little nook accessible from the paths to the Strip, a dark hole in the otherwise neon nightlife of the Las Vegas Strip. Even with the desert sun beating overhead, it was a shady and cool reprieve from the weather.

Jasper walked around it a few times, trying to find some kind of scent or clue as to what was going on. The oldest crime scene meant that the murderer was still new, still working out the kinks in their  _ modus operandi. _

But she found nothing. As the lack of clues became more and more obvious, she grew growlier and surlier and more and more frustrated.

Peridot kept her distance. Jasper could tell she was quieter, less pushy, just giving the information Jasper asked for without any fanfare. They checked three more crime scenes only to come up blank.

Jasper punched the wall on the last with a growl, frustrated. She hated when the job was a complete blank. She hated having nothing to go on. She hated feeling so useless, so powerless, so utterly  _ lost _ . She couldn’t do  _ anything _ –

She pulled her hand away from the wall, knuckles split and seeping blood. She jumped at the feeling of  _ touch _ on her arm and looked over at Peridot, wide-eyed and panting, nostrils flaring with each breath.

“What if we just came back at night? The coroner said they happened around one a.m. so… why not walk the Strip tonight and see if we pick up on anything?”

Jasper relaxed a bit, her breathing slowing and her expression softening from rage and frustration to a vague annoyance to resignation.

“Are you just saying that because you want to be a tourist,” she said, not sounding more than just vaguely grumpy.

“A little fun will do you good. C’mon. You can’t spend your life grumpily hunting down nasties without having a bit of fun in between.”

“Watch me,” Jasper grunted.

“Jasper. We are in Vegas. We are going to have fun if it kills you.”


	12. Stays In Vegas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just a night out. What could go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am so psyched about this chapter. i had so much fun writing this chapter. so much. i hope u enjoy it as much as i do.

They started at the Mandalay Bay aquarium, winding down the path through trees and rocks and enclosures, Peridot eagerly pressing her face to the glass and grinning broadly about this fish or that snake and how much she loved aquariums. Jasper herself could take or leave the aquarium, but every once in a while she’d find herself letting out little hehs of amusement at Peridot’s eagerness, shaking her head and almost grinning. Almost.

They grabbed dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in the MGM Grand once the sun went down, and by the time they were finished, Peridot was grinning ear-to-ear.

“I know how to make this job pay even without a bounty.”

Peridot dragged Jasper by the hand into the huge, open floor of the MGM Grand’s casino. The sounds and smells were almost overwhelming to Jasper’s senses, and before long she was a bit dazed, allowing Peridot to pull her onwards with no real protest.

Peridot sat Jasper down in front of a slot machine and then disappeared. Jasper blinked dumbly at it and looked around to figure out exactly where Peridot had disappeared to, then crossed her arms with a little grump and settled back in the too-small chair. The bustle of the casino was overwhelming to her enhanced senses, and after a few moments she pulled her phone and a pair of earbuds out of her pocket and started listening to music, drowning out the cacophony around her. Normally she’d be worried about someone sneaking up on her and attacking, but she turned around and put her back to the slot machine, eyes alert for any potential attack from all directions while her hearing was muffled by the sounds of classic rock.

She still leaped a good two feet into the air when Peridot put her hand on her arm. Jasper took her earbuds out and gave Peridot a questioning look. The smaller woman held up a plastic card.

“Watch this.”

She inserted the card into her machine and settled down. The machine flashed and beeped merrily, one of many offensive sounds to Jasper’s ears. But she watched with interest as Peridot pressed a hand to the slot machine and closed her eyes.

The reels spun, then dinged one by one into place, brightly-colored lines blinking as every reel settled into a perfect match. The machine dinged loudly and repeatedly and Jasper jerked back, letting out a growl.

The lighted sign above their row of machines flashed, the Jackpot number briefly flickering before the digits spun down.

Peridot removed the card, beaming. Jasper blinked dully at her before she started to snortlaugh.

“I cannot believe-”

“Listen, I won’t steal from anyone who doesn’t deserve it, but a place like this that makes its money ripping off tourists and gambling addicts? Damn straight I’ll take them for every penny.”

“And so that was…”

“A little over ten thousand. Are you happy to be in Vegas now?” Peridot looked incredibly proud of herself. Jasper reached up to ruffle her hair, eliciting an indignant nasal sound from the smaller woman.

“Once I get out of this sensory hell, maybe. Let’s go.”

“I’ve gotta get this cashed in first,” Peridot said. “I’ll be right back; you wait here.”

Jasper returned the earbuds to her ears to drown out the sound again, still jumpy and in a bit of a daze, eyes darting around almost nervously as she tried to cover for the loss of one of her senses. It was the only way she knew to drown out the excess sensory input without completely losing her ability to see danger coming.

It was several long, agonizing minutes before Peridot returned, and Jasper raised an eyebrow at what came with her. Peridot was trailing a woman about an inch taller, with long blonde hair and a broad grin on her round face. She looked dressed to party, with a short black sequined dress and three-inch heeled boots that went up to her thighs. Her lips were cherry-red and her eyeliner was winged so well Jasper was almost jealous despite not ever even wearing makeup.

She removed her earbuds and pointed at the new addition, a question in her expression.

“This is Christine!” Peridot chirped. “She said she knew of some fun places on the Strip!”

Jasper looked this Christine up and down with a sigh. She seemed harmless enough, a cute party girl. She had a feeling that their definitions of “fun” were vastly different, but if Peridot seemed so intent on having her as a guide… well, whatever.

Christine stepped forward and put an arm around Peridot’s waist, and Jasper’s eyes narrowed.

“Peri, who’s this?” Christine asked. Her voice was high and lilting, almost a bit fake-sounding, but Jasper couldn’t quite tell in the overwhelming din of the casino.

“Oh! This is my friend, Jasper! We work together!”

“Oh? What do you do?”

“Uhh…” Peridot looked over at Jasper, clearly a little lost.

“Human resources.” Jasper raised a hand to run through her hair nervously, then tilted her head towards one of the exits. “Can we go somewhere quieter? Please?”

Once they were out of the casino, the dings and whirrs and clanging din gave way to the quieter, but still rather loud hubbub of the moving crowd of people outside the casino. It was at the very least less offensive to Jasper’s senses, but it was still loud and full of smells and almost overwhelming. But it wasn’t the casino, and it was a start.

Jasper was beginning to regret agreeing to walk the Strip.

She kept an eye on Christine, who seemed awfully touchy with Peridot. The smaller woman was getting rather blushy and flustered at the stranger’s attentions, and Jasper couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. She didn’t trust Christine, she didn’t trust anyone that just showed up out of the blue like that… but she also didn’t see or smell anything off. There was no reason for her to dislike Christine save the fact that she was annoyingly handsy with Peridot and Peridot seemed blissfully ignorant of what even Jasper could read as overt advances.

The Strip was just another deluge of sounds and smells, the only thing keeping it from being as oppressive and overwhelming as the casino the fact that the night sky was above them and the night air helped some of the scents dissipate a bit better.

Jasper’s senses were still working overtimes to process everything, though, and all she really managed to notice as they made their way down the Strip was how Christine kept hanging off Peridot. And Peridot was giggling, grinning, blushing. Jasper growled to herself and tried to ignore it. There was enough she had to pay attention to right now…

It was damn near impossible to pick up anything in this crowd. Jasper hated crowds. People were loud and scents overlapped and motion in every direction made processing incoming danger difficult.

It wasn’t until she realized she wasn’t hearing Peridot’s giggles any longer that she turned around and scanned the crowd for her partner. Her heart skipped and she could feel the blood rushing in her ears as she scanned the crowd, searching for Peridot’s blonde head in the neon lights. She was nowhere to be seen.

Fuck.

Jasper tried to calm herself, trying to tell herself that Peridot had probably gotten distracted by something interesting, or Christine had pulled her somewhere for a makeout session, with the way the stranger had been hanging all over her…

Jasper growled and shook her head. Peridot wouldn’t just  _ disappear _ like that, would she-

She backtracked, sniffing the air, trying to filter through the myriad scents of the crowd around her. Peridot’s scent was familiar, at least, and after she caught it, she was able to follow it, zigzagging through a sea of people going in the opposite direction, grunting whenever she accidentally ran into someone but not apologizing, too singleminded for niceties. The crowd, for the most part, parted around her amazonian stature, people practically fleeing in the face of her determination.

She followed Peridot’s scent until she slipped through an opening between two buildings, the space almost invisible and only  _ barely _ big enough for Jasper to follow. It was a short, small alleyway that opened up into a proper alley as she went further. There were doors to the employee sections of the buildings and scattered trash and debris that spoke of an area that was far less meticulously cared-for than the casinos and storefronts.

And Christine had Peridot shoved against one of the walls, lips locked and hands traveling downward. They seemed perfectly content in their current situation.

Jasper flushed and looked away, a surge of anger and embarrassment going through her at the sight of Peridot and Christine making out. She turned to leave until a thought struck her.

With the bustle of the crowd and the muddle of scents further away now, she could smell Peridot, and arousal, and, vaguely, the clean scent of  _ vampire _ .

The blessed beretta, loaded with silver bullets, leveled at Christine.

“Get away from her,” Jasper growled.

Christine pulled away from Peridot just a bit with a fanged grin.

“Jealous girlfriend?”

“Pissed-off hunter.”

Peridot had a goofy grin on her flushed face as she waved her hand a bit loopily at Jasper.

“C’mon, lighten up,” she said, her voice lilting and far different than what Jasper was used to hearing. “Or join us~” she added with a little giggle.

“Release her,” Jasper grunted. She could tell just from Peridot’s expression that she was under the vampire’s thrall, glamoured into complacency and obedience.

“No chance. The Red Fangs need every ounce of blood we can get.” She indicated a small tank and a coil of medical tubing. “Room in there for you, even if you are a filthy wolf.”

There was the intense desire in the back of her head to just settle down and stay still, but she snarled and took a step forward, leveling her handgun at Christine. It was much easier to resist a vampire’s glamour once you knew what it felt like.

“I said  _ release her. _ ”

“Russell,” Christine said. Before Jasper realized it, she was hit in the side by what felt like a fucking truck, bouncing off the wall next to her with a pained cry. The wind left her lungs and her gun clattered to the ground. She gasped and felt a sharp pain in her chest. Broken rib–

She leaped for her gun and scooped it up, looking around frantically for whatever had hit her. The smell of vampire was stronger now, a bit different. She was panting, ragged and painful, ears straining.

A man appeared in front of her, dark hair and green eyes and pale, pale skin all she could register until her head was grabbed from the back and yanked downward, smashing her face onto his knee. Blood flowed freely from her nose as she straightened and stumbled back, dazed but still standing.

Two of them.

She tried to level the gun at the second vampire and fired. Once, twice. Her vision was shaky from the hit and she missed each time, the male dodging her broadcasted movements easily. She cursed.

Off to the side, Christine still had Peridot cornered, pressed against the wall, the smaller woman still under her control. Jasper looked over, muttered a soft curse, and then returned her attention to the male, Russell, just in time to have him ram into her, sending her flying back and landing heavily on the ground. She gasped in a ragged breath and winced, able to feel more sharp pains going through her chest.

She kept her beretta, this time. But she didn’t get up. Jasper remained on the ground, wheezing, trying to take in breaths of air through the sharp pains of broken ribs. Everything smelled like blood, tasted like blood. She could hear blood pounding in her ears as the male vampire, Russell, made his way to her and rested a foot on her chest.

She wheezed and winced in pain. The vampire above her grinned, fangs flashing.

The beretta came up, and two rounds buried in his head. He went down and started sizzling, twitching, but otherwise unmoving.

“Russell-!!” Christine cried. Peridot was ignored in favor of running over to the smoking form of the male vampire. Christine let out a pained-sounding sob and repeated his name.

“Jasper-!” Peridot gasped. Jasper pushed herself upright and wiped the blood from her face. She raised a hand and gave Peridot a thumbs-up. At least  _ that _ spell seemed to have been broken.

She wasn’t even on her feet before she was slammed into again, this time by Christine. She collapsed back to the ground, pushed a few feet with the force, and her beretta skittered away across the alley.

Her fingers twitched and she leaped up as quickly as she could manage, wincing.

A heavy punch landed on her belly and she let out a pained sound. She spat red, but it didn’t stop coming, the acrid tang of blood filling her lungs and stomach and creeping up her throat. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to  _ think. _

She struggled to her feet again, wobbly. Dark blood dripped from her lips as she spat and gasped and tried to take in air, every inch of her chest and belly burning with pain. Red mist started to close over her vision, the Wolf inside fighting to get out, fighting for her life.

She stumbled to the side to miss the next blow and struck out herself, grabbing Christine by the back of her dress and swinging her around, slamming her bodily into the wall next to her with a ragged roar. Christine let out a pained cry and dropped to the ground when Jasper released her.

The vampire was up in an instant. She swung out with a punch that connected with Jasper’s face, sending the werewolf reeling backwards.

She spit out part of a tooth with the dark blood this time. Her breaths gurgled as she tried to suck in air, growing dizzy as her lungs filled with blood.

She leaped forward and grabbed Christine’s head, slamming it against the wall next to her. The vampire let out a shriek and flailed wildly. Her nails scratched a deep gouge across Jasper’s face and Jasper roared in shock and pain, stumbling back and releasing the vampire as she blinked away blood dripping down her forehead.

The red mist closed in.

Broken bones crackled and shifted and stretched, rearranging as best as possible until the hulking red wolf was standing where Jasper had been, sides heaving and blood dripping from her mouth.

She wobbled. She leapt. Jaws snapped and teeth tore and borrowed blood flowed. The vampire stumbled back. She attacked again.

Her prey fought back. A punch connected. Her feet left the ground. She let out a wail and collapsed in a heap.

She stood shakily, panting, bleeding. Her tongue lolled out, dark and red.

She leapt. Teeth connected. A chunk of flesh came free as she was shoved away. She rolled across the ground.

It took a moment to rise. Pain. Everything was pain. She regained her footing weakly and leaped again.

The vampire grabbed her. Swung. She connected with the wall and yelped. Fell.

This time, she didn’t get up.

Shots rang out. She didn’t care. Everything was pain. Breathing was hard. Ragged. Her vision and mind were foggy.

She struggled up, snarling, hurting, frightened.

The only one left was the smallest. She tried to approach. The wolf snarled, blood dripping. She snapped. Bristled. Stepped back. The small one paused and stepped forward again.

She pushed herself forward. Snarled a warning. The small one didn’t listen. She snapped again. Crouched to leap, to defend.

The fuzziness in her head closed in.

She collapsed and knew no more.

Jasper wasn’t sure how long she’d been out when she woke up. Her vision was still fuzzy, head still muddled. She was looking at a wall with spatters of dark red on it for a moment or two until her vision focused enough to see the ball of Peridot curled up against it as well.

She groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position, trembling and weak and still hurting all over.

She coughed.

“Peridot,” she rasped. She spit too-dark blood onto the already bloodied ground.

“Jasper-” Peridot sounded like she’d been crying.

“You okay-?” She still had trouble focusing her vision, and everything tasted and smelled of blood. But she was alive.

“I-I thought you-” Peridot sniffled. “A-are you-”

“I’ll be fine,” she grunted. “How long was I out?”

“T-two hours.”

“They both dead?”

“Yeah.” Peridot sniffled and moved over to Jasper. “Need help getting up?”

“I’ve got it,” Jasper growled, trying to shove herself onto her feet with shaking arms. It was useless; she felt weak as a kitten, exhausted and in pain and  _ broken _ inside.

Peridot offered her hands. Jasper looked aside before taking them and allowing Peridot to help her up.

She wobbled. Peridot pressed up close to support her and Jasper rumbled a low, soft thanks.

“Let’s get you back to the hotel to clean up.”

Jasper let out a pained little grunt and allowed Peridot to guide her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i would just like everyone to know that yes peridot did indeed force-pull the gun to her ok thank u


	13. Howling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three nights of the full moon see Jasper out in the woods alone. But perhaps not as alone as she intended...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's a little short and i am sorry ;0;
> 
> but there is boof
> 
> much boof

They didn’t leave Vegas for a week. It wasn’t for fun; it took that long for Jasper to recover enough that she felt like she was able to hunt again. She laid on the bed in pain for days, sleeping only when Peridot’s pills numbed her enough that she could slip into unconsciousness. The room was filled with the sound of her ragged, pained breathing for four days until her lungs finally recovered enough to work properly.

Peridot didn’t leave the hotel room, either. She ordered room service for food and only slipped out a time or two for a couple of hours and returned with wads of cash, apparently the product of cheating slot machines with her technomancy.

Jasper was silent for days save her ragged breathing, and Peridot was thankfully respectful of that. Speaking hurt.  _ Breathing _ hurt. She wasn’t sure how she would have survived to recover from this without Peridot there.

There was something to be said for having a partner.

By the fourth day, Jasper could sit up without lances of pain going through her body with every slight movement, and Peridot started them watching her show again. Jasper didn’t mind; it was a welcome distraction from her body’s painful healing. There was no stitching up internal damage.

Her whole body was covered in purple-black bruises even into the fifth day.

Bones knit back together and punctured lungs healed and drained, organs patching up slowly and painfully. But by the sixth day, she was up and walking again, pacing the room restlessly. She still ached, but she could move, could speak, could breathe.

And just in time. It was almost the full moon, leaving her with just one day to get somewhere isolated and wild and  _ safe. _

“We need to leave,” she grunted.

“You’re still limping,” Peridot said, looking up from her laptop.

“I’ll be fine. We’re going to Colorado.”

“Why Colorado?”

“Plenty of mountains and forests to run in. Full moon starts tomorrow and I’m not exactly safe in the suburbs.”

“Ah,” Peridot said quietly. “That’s right… okay. Let’s get going.”

The trip to Colorado was quiet. Jasper had still insisted on driving, but she was sullen and surly and silent. Peridot tried a time or two to start up conversation, but at Jasper’s clipped one- and two-word responses just returned to her writing.

But when they finally pulled into the parking lot of a motel just a few miles from a state park, Jasper cut the engine and sighed.

“Thank you.”

“Mh- what?” Peridot took her earphones out. Jasper looked away, a bit uncomfortable.

“Thank you… for finishing off that vampire. And helping me back to the hotel. And… not leaving me.”

Peridot blushed and looked away.

“I… thought you were dead at first,” she murmured. “You weren’t breathing.”

“…I’m glad you were there,” she murmured, voice low. “I don’t… know if I’d have survived alone.”

Peridot gave her a huge grin.

“We kicked ass.”

Jasper laughed, the sound hurting just a twinge from her still-healing body.

“We did.” She reached over and ruffled Peridot’s hair, the smaller woman letting out an indignant nasal sound. “You gonna be okay here alone for three days?”

“I’ll be fine. As long as the motel has wifi, I can survive anything.”

“You’re a fucking nerd.”

“Yes. And you’re an ass.”

“Yes.”

Jasper grabbed a small overnight bag and stepped out her door, circling around to the front of the van and dangling the keys in front of Peridot.

“Take care of Lucille for me while I run naked through the woods for three days.”

Peridot snorted, but a little tint of a blush showed on her cheeks.

“It sounds much less magical when you put it like that.”

“And yet you’re still imagining me running naked through the woods.”

“I-I am not!” Peridot squeaked, face red. Jasper laughed and ruffled her hair again.

“I’ll be back after dawn once the full moon has passed. We can get breakfast. I’ll buy.”

“Jasper I’ve got like forty K now.”

“Sure, sugar mama.”

“Don’t. Just. Please. Don’t.”

Jasper flashed her a grin and started down the road towards the Crescent Peak National Park, waving her free hand in the air.

“I’ll be back. Don’t miss me too much.”

She didn’t wait for a response.

Once she was up in the woods, she climbed as high as her legs would take her, off the beaten path, stepping over roots and rocks and scrubby underbrush. Her body was still hurting, still protesting, but she soldiered on. It gave her a chance to think in the high, thin air. She’d stewed over her failure in Vegas the whole ride here, every day she’d spent languishing in her hotel bed healing, but the mountain air helped clear her head some.

It could have gone much worse. Peridot had been there. It was Peridot who managed to save her. She felt like-  _ she _ was the one who was supposed to do the saving. She’d taken it upon herself to protect Peridot.

And then Peridot had saved her life.

She shook her head. She remembered almost attacking Peridot after that, too. She told herself that she’d been frightened, and in pain, and cornered. But…

She didn’t want to hurt Peridot. And if she hadn’t been so badly injured before, she might have. She’d have to do her best not to shift with Peridot around any longer. Or at least, shift before the Wolf takes over completely.

_ She didn’t want to hurt Peridot. _ She didn’t want to live through that again.

She climbed up above the treeline and settled onto a rock, looking out at the setting sun, her face flushed from the cool air and exertion of climbing. Soon.

The overnight bag got shoved beneath a rocky outcropping. It radiated a strong, fruity scent so that Jasper would be able to find her way back to it.

Jasper settled back onto the rock to watch the sunset.

At moonrise, the great red wolf trotted down the rocks and into the woods.

She broke into a run, dodging between trees, getting used to her still-healing body after the battle before. Some steps were still painful, some breaths still burned, but she would survive. She would always survive.

She hunted by moonlight, stalking smaller creatures, pouncing on rabbit and mouse and squirrel with ravenous glee. She ate her fill and threw her head back, howling her claim to the moon. This was her territory now.

Her ears flicked at the sound of a warbly, animal calling rising on the wind. It was not the cry of a wolf, but of something else. Something she didn’t recognize. But it was loud, and it was near, and it was claiming  _ her territory. _

She set out to find it, to drive it away. She circled the area, sniffing the wind, tracing paths through the woods.

When the sun came, she had to suspend her search. Jasper took the wolf’s place, stretching in the dawn’s dewy air and setting back out towards the rock she’d stashed her things in.

She stretched out on the rock warming in the sun and pulled a book and a granola bar out of the bag, settling back to pass the day far from civilization and anyone she might harm. She caught a few hours of sleep.

When night fell again, the wolf set off with a mission. She raised her head to howl out a challenge to the beast that wanted her territory.

The warbling cry responded, close once more.

As she followed the sound of the other beast, a deer crossed her path. She froze. The two of them looked at each other briefly before the deer took off running. She gave chase, her superior size and strength bringing down the deer with little issue in a clearing not far from where she’d started.

She settled in, for now, to feast.

The sound of rustling drew her attention and she raised her head, muzzle and fur coated with red. A great beast shuffled out of the woods on the other side of the clearing and a shiver went up her spine.

It was neither wolf nor deer nor human, yet it seemed to be some of each. Great icy antlers rose from a wolflike head with dark, empty eyes. Long arms with thin, grasping fingers dragged along the ground, humanlike body emaciated and ribcage visible as it crept forward, burbling a softer tone of the cries that had risen on the wind. Its mouth was open, a gash of red on dark fur and too many too-sharp teeth crowded together. It smelled awful, like death and meat and sickly-sweet decay.

Her hackles raised and she snarled, showing red-stained teeth. The creature would not take her prey. It would not take her territory.

She leaped over the deer carcass and stood between it and the beast, snarling, growling, gnashing her teeth, great shaggy form looking even larger with her fur standing up.

Leave, she said, with her teeth and fur and claws. Leave me be. Leave my territory.

The beast burbled softly and stepped back. She stepped forward.

It disappeared back into the woods, and she returned to her meal.

Jasper couldn’t put the thought of that great beast out of her head as she stretched out on her warm rock and tried to fall asleep, waiting for the final night of the full moon. She’d never seen anything like it. Some kind of beast, some kind of shifter, some kind of elemental, some kind of forest spirit…

It hadn’t seemed interested in attacking her. Just her deer. Maybe it was harmless.

She couldn’t shake the feeling deep in her bones that it wasn’t.

The final night of the full moon, she found her deer again. It had been torn to pieces, bones snapped and half-eaten, huge chunks of meat and viscera ripped from it until there was next to nothing left to scavenge.

She followed the scent of the beast from before, angered, ready to drive it out of her territory by force, now, if necessary. She growled to herself as she followed the trail, ears flicking in all direction to remain alert to the world around her.

She passed into another clearing and paused. Here, there were scraps of cloth half-standing on poles, spattered with blood and ripped ragged by claws. Bodies lay torn to pieces just like the deer, but human this time, from what she could tell.

She circled the camp curiously, sniffing and licking at the mangled bodies. It smelled like human, human blood, human flesh. She knew the scent, the taste. This was fresh.

And yet it still stank of death and meat and decay.


	14. Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is that thing and how do we kill it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i've had this finished since yesterday and it took every ounce of my self-control not to post two chapters last night so i could have a buffer for when i need to sleep all day

Just after dawn, Jasper practically beat down the motel room door before Peridot opened it for her. She pushed herself inside, around the very dazed and hardly awake Peridot, and went to pick up the laptop.

“Peri, I need your help looking something up. There’s something in the woods.”

“Jasper… there’s always something in the woods.”

“Ha. No, really. There’s something up there and it killed a bunch of campers and if we don’t take it out it’ll kill even more.”

“Is there a bounty?” Peridot asked, voice still thick with sleep as she rubbed at her eyes. Jasper was already sitting at the tiny table and pulling open Peridot’s laptop, too-big fingers clumsily searching for something, anything this might be.

“No,” she said distractedly. “But four people are dead and I’m not going to let more die if we can stop it.”

Peridot seemed to be waking up more as she sat down in the other chair.

“That’s awfully heroic of you.”

“I’m not just leaving and letting the people around here deal with it. I’m not a hero, just someone in the right place at the right time. We’re going to figure out what this thing is and how to kill it.”

“Mhmm,” Peridot said, then yawned. “Okay, what’d it look like.”

Jasper looked around the room and grabbed a pen and a pad of motel letterhead, sketching out what she remembered of the creature.

Peridot took it and squinted at the picture.

“This isn’t bad,” she murmured, then shook her head. “Anyway, okay, give me the laptop, fill me in.”

Jasper passed the laptop over to Peridot and fished out her own phone, running a search for any deaths in the area.

“About ten feet tall, made a weird sound like someone was strangling a wolf. Antlers looked like they were made of ice. It ripped the bodies apart and ate almost everything, including the bones.”

“Mhmm,” Peridot said distractedly. “Humanoid though, so potentially some kind of transformed human. Some kind of shifter? Or a cannibalistic spirit…”

“There’ve been eight grizzly attacks up there in the past year,” Jasper murmured.

“So this thing has killed before.”

“Most likely,” Jasper sighed. She went looking in her phone for more information as well.

“Okay, so if we’re looking at shifters, it could be a skinwalker of some kind.”

“No, I’ve fought skinwalkers, they’re pretty much shifters with issues. This was something… else. It may have started out human, but it isn’t any more.”

Peridot nodded.

“Maybe a wendigo, then. Cannibalistic monster created when a human resorts to cannibalism to survive a situation like a harsh winter. It’s apparently always hungry and can be killed by fire.”

“Never fought one of those,” Jasper grunted, having a bit of trouble navigating some of the sites she was looking through on her phone.

“Oh!” Peridot said, face breaking into a grin. “Or a wechuge! A willing host, seeking power or knowledge, allows themself to be possessed by a great and ancient animal spirit, that drives them to cannibalism. They have a strong connection to ice, and can only be killed by fire.”

“So either way we torch the damn thing,” Jasper said pensively.

“If it really is one of the two.”

“Well, I mean. Most things can be stopped with ridiculous amounts of fire.”

Peridot just paused and blinked.

“...you have a point.”

“Yes. So let’s get something to eat. And then we’re going hunting.”

Jasper wolfed down her food when it arrived, huge form tucked into a diner booth. It wasn’t until she’d eaten enough for somewhere around three people that she finally stopped, sated. Full moons always left her ravenous, even if she spent the whole time hunting.

“So setting it on fire. How are we going to do that?” Peridot was scanning on her phone with a little frown, her own food half-eaten and forgotten in her focus. “Flamethrowers cost over a thousand dollars, and they aren’t exactly something you can pick up at Home Depot.”

“All I need is wasp spray and a Zippo,” Jasper said with a grin. “I’ve got the last part in my van.”

“So you’re telling me that you just… have the components for a flamethrower tucked away in there.”

Jasper winked.

“You’d be surprised what mysteries Lucille holds.”

Peridot paid for their food as Jasper went out to the van. She dug around in one of the lockboxes along the walls and pulled out a simple metal contraption, showing it to Peridot once she was back outside. It was a long metal rod with a small clip on one end and a larger, tong-like clip on the other, and she pointed to the parts she was talking about to show Peridot.

“Lighter here. Can here. Push the button and you’ve got up to fifteen feet of disaster at your fingertips.”

“You just… have this. Did you make it yourself?” Peridot seemed a bit incredulous.

Jasper rubbed the back of her neck and blushed a bit.

“Yeah, well. Most things stop trying to kill you when they’re on fire, so…”

“This is so cool,” Peridot murmured. That did not help Jasper’s blush recede in the slightest.

“It’s just a little metal,” Jasper said, almost trying to puff up a bit and grump at Peridot. “Let’s go get what we need.”

Peridot was the one holding the makeshift flamethrower as they started their trek up to the desecrated camp. Jasper had made the argument that the one with the power to control metal was probably the best choice to use the metal weapon, and the one with the increased healing factor was the best choice for bait and a distraction.

Peridot was not enjoying the trek in the slightest.

“What’s that  _ smell? _ ” she whined, a step or two behind Jasper.

“Fresh air.”

“I don’t like it,” Peridot grumbled. Jasper laughed.

“It’ll do you good.”

“Sunlight and fresh air is not my aesthetic.”

“You’re adorable.”

Peridot fell silent and Jasper looked over her shoulder to see the smaller woman blushing bright red.

“Watch your step. Gets rocky around here.”

When they made it to the campsite, Jasper started looking around grimly, all traces of her previous decent mood dissipated at the sight of the carnage. Peridot paled and refused to look any longer at the grisly remains of whatever poor souls had the misfortune of setting up camp here.

It looked even worse during the day. The tents were torn to ribbons and spattered with blood; two of the bodies were separated from the camp like they had tried to run, and one was still in the middle of a shredded tent like they had been caught asleep. Jasper wondered briefly if that one had even realized they were going to die.

Bones were splintered and fragments of viscera speckled the ground, a smeared mess of meat and bone the only thing left of the campers.

It definitely wasn’t a grizzly attack.

Jasper raised her head, the damp, cool air of the mountain holding onto the beast’s scent enough for her to track it.

She moved over to Peridot, who was looking at the sky, and grabbed her by the wrist.

“C’mon. I’ll let you know when we’re out of sight.”

Peridot mumbled her thanks as Jasper led her through the camp.

Jasper took in huffing breaths to follow the scent, not really  _ enjoying _ the sickly-sweet smell of decay but at least finding it easy to follow. She released Peridot’s wrist after a while and ruffled her hair.

“Safe now,” she said. Peridot grunted. “We’re actually not too far from its den. The scent’s strong here.”

“I can smell it,” Peridot groaned. “It’s nasty. Like someone left dishes and raw hamburger in the sink for a month. We get much closer and I might puke.”

“Breathe through your mouth.”

“I just want to know how you can manage this with your senses all wolfy and stuff.”

“I’m used to it. And it  _ still _ turns my stomach.” Jasper rubbed her hand across her nose. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

They climbed a bit higher until Jasper held her hand out, across Peridot’s chest, to stop the smaller woman from walking past. She pointed at a patch of rocks between the trees and a dark gash through it.

“Found its den,” she grunted. “Stay out here. I’ll draw it out.”

“Jasper-” As she stepped forward, Peridot grabbed her sleeve. “Be careful.”

Jasper gave her a lopsided grin.

“I’m always careful.”

She cupped her hands around her mouth and raised a howl to the sky, remarkably similar to her wolf form’s call. She was met with the faint, warbling almost-howl of the creature from deep in the mountain.

And then she plunged inside the black gash in the rock face, machete in one hand and heavy metal flashlight in the other.

The inside of the cave was pitch-dark, the beam of orange from her flashlight only managing to accentuate the crevices and shadows. She jogged her way in and raised another howl, the sound echoing through the cave as she worked her way deeper. The warbling cry in response was closer now, and she readied her machete, light in front of her.

She howled again. The cry responded just moments before the beast came in range of her flashlight, and she struck out with her machete to cut a gash across the monster’s wolfish face. It reeled backwards with a pained cry before it burbled a growl and leaped towards Jasper.

She got a series of gashes across her bicep, four straight clawmarks, because the damn thing was fast, faster than its lumbering form would imply, and she snarled, turned, ran.

Jasper wasn’t afraid. But  _ Jasper _ didn’t have the flamethrower.

She could hear the thing behind her, thundering after her, and she took a turn too fast, slipped, the flashlight almost falling from her hand. She recovered and picked up speed again, able to see the light filtering into the cave.

She burst out into the sunlight with a great gasp and ran towards Peridot.

“Ready!”

“Ready!” Peridot grunted, bringing the can up.

The creature cleared the cave, and a half a second later a great gout of flame shot from Peridot’s makeshift flamethrower, engulfing the beast in a column of fire.

It let out a screeching cry as the flames spread across its body, and the vile smell of decay was replaced by the scent of burning fur.

The fire burnt itself out, and the only sign that the monster had even been there was the icy antlers that fell to the ground. And even they melted into the moss in seconds.

“Did you see that?!” Peridot called. “I kicked its ass! Try eating people  _ now _ you stupid shitty monster!”

“Good job, little nerd,” Jasper said, grinning and panting as she came up beside Peridot, machete and flashlight both sheathed. She rested her hand on the hacker’s head. “Took out the bad guy all by yourself.”

Peridot looked over her, grinning, but her face fell as she saw the deep gashes on Jasper’s arm.

“You’re hurt-”

“Tis only a flesh wound,” Jasper said, still grinning. “The bleeding’ll stop in a few minutes and it should be just fine in a day or two. Just itchy.”

Peridot eyed the scratches.

“What if it’s going to turn you into one of those things…”

“Then set me on fire, of course. C’mon, let’s head back.” She turned and started walking back, heading down the mountain. Peridot scrambled after her.

“Wait, seriously? You’d just want me to kill you like that?”

“Listen, if I’m going to be turned into a monster, I’d rather be dead before I hurt anyone. If I become dangerous, I trust you to take me out before I hurt you or anyone else.”

Peridot grew quiet.

“But… I don’t want to hurt you.”

“And I don’t want to hurt you. Which is why, if I end up turning into some kind of mindless killer, I want you to kill me first, before I get the chance.”

They were both quiet for a little while, just walking, until Jasper broke the silence.

“That includes when I’m a wolf.”

Peridot stopped, and Jasper took a few steps forward before realizing she wasn’t following. She turned halfway around.

“I don’t want to.”

“Peridot. I have to be able to trust that you’ll take me out before I hurt you.”

“ _ I don’t want to! _ I’m not going to hurt you!”

Jasper stalked towards Peridot and grabbed both of her upper arms, looking in her eyes.

“You might have to! I can’t hurt you- I can’t hurt anyone else I-” she fell silent and looked away. Her chest was tight and heavy with emotion, an almost sob in her voice.

“…Jasper,” Peridot said, her voice low. “…what did you  _ do? _ ”

Jasper released Peridot’s arms and stepped back, hands opening and closing as she looked around, like she was trying to find something to change the subject with. Her shoulders sloped in defeat, and she only managed to glance up at Peridot for a moment before she looked at the ground and started turning away.

“Her name was Penelope. I called her Pink. She was my fiancee.”

She started walking again, putting her hands in her pockets. There was still a resigned angle to her shoulders.

Peridot caught up, and Jasper glanced over at her briefly before looking away. There was pity in Peridot’s eyes, and she didn’t want to see it.

“…was she a hunter…?”

“No. I wasn’t, either. Not yet.”

“And you…”

“It was my first full moon. I didn’t know.”

“How long has it been…?”

“Ten years next month. I try to forget, but sometimes…” She shook her head and sighed.

She did her best to try and find some way to regain her equilibrium, steady herself before the regret and pain dragged her down.

Jasper let out a breathy, rueful little laugh.

“You owe me dinner for making me talk.”

“Fine,” Peridot said. Jasper could still hear the pity in her voice, but she chose to ignore it.

“I want steak.”

“Steak it is.”


	15. Rock Solid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Statues are cropping up that look startlingly like the victims of recent disappearances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, as a heads up. this chapter and the next both have mentions of abuse and rape in them. they aren't detailed or anything, but i still feel like they should be warned for

“Petrifications in Evenston, New York. Men disappearing and stone statues showing up,” Peridot said, turning her laptop around for Jasper to see the report. Jasper looked up from her phone.

“Basilisk or cockatrice. Bounty?”

“No bounty. We’re good on money, Jasper.”

“We don’t have to take every charity case that shows up online, Peridot.”

“I thought you were turning over a new leaf with the wendigo wechuge thing,” Peridot said, almost pouting. It had been two days; Jasper had insisted on staying a bit longer to rest up after the full moon. She’d spent most of the time sleeping and refusing to mention anything she’d told Peridot up on the mountain.

“I didn’t have to drive to the fuckoff other side of the country for the wendigo wechuge thing.”

“Jasper.” Peridot frowned, staring at her. Jasper looked away, unable to keep the smaller woman’s gaze, a flush on her cheeks.

She glanced back, frowned herself, but looked away again.

By the third time she glanced back at Peridot during the heavy silence, she sighed.

“Okay. Fine. We’ll take the charity case.”

Peridot grinned triumphantly.

“Sweet. Okay. If we’re fighting something that can petrify, I’m going to need mercury.”

“Mercur-” Jasper had to stop, as Peridot had disappeared out the door. She sighed. Okay then.

Peridot spent most of the ride with a bottle of liquid mercury between her legs, floating the metal in the air in front of her and making it into different shapes, a dumb grin on her face.

It was adorable and also very distracting when the sun hit the silvery metal and reflected into her eyes.

The Evenston Police Department was a small affair, smaller than would be expected for a city its size. Jasper looked around as they walked inside, taking off her sunglasses and flashing her badge at the front desk.

“Agent Cena, this is Agent Jobs. We’re looking into the disappearances lately. Can we see your records?”

“Let me get the chief,” the woman behind the desk said, standing up and heading into a nearby office.

A stocky white woman with close-cropped brown hair walked out behind the secretary and offered her hand to Jasper. Jasper took it and was unsurprised by the firm grip but nonetheless impressed. She loved a woman with a good handshake.

“Jess Masters, Chief of Police. We were wondering when this would catch the attention of the Feds. Back here.”

She indicated for them to follow her into a glass-walled room with whiteboards and corkboards set up, covered in pictures of men and stone statues next to them that looked almost identical.

“Six men have disappeared in the past month. We’ve found statues that look like them in alleys and behind buildings.”

“So some kind of serial kidnapping artist?” Peridot asked. Jasper had to hold back a snort of laughter. The police chief did laugh.

“That’s what most of the force thinks. It’s a little ridiculous to me.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow.

“So you’re thinking it’s something else?”

“I’m thinking it’s not worth looking into,” Jess said. “There are some missing persons that are better off staying that way.” She indicated the corkboard with the pictures on it. “These scumbags fall into that category.”

“Odd to hear that from a cop,” Jasper said, eyebrow still raised. Jess gave a derogatory snort and walked over to a stack of folders on a table, holding them up and dropping them next to the stack one by one as she spoke.

“Darren Fisher, restraining order from his wife for repeated physical abuse. Edwin Barnett, eighteen domestic disturbances in the past three months. Matt Wells, wife claims repeated physical and sexual abuse but refuses to press charges due to her two children. Tyler Wagner, wife pressed charges for multiple counts of spousal rape but dropped them after threats of further violence. Robert Barton, suspected in three rape cases but has friends providing alibis for all three. Joel Baldwin, girlfriend currently in intensive care after attempting to break up with him. Scumbags, the lot of them. I say whoever’s doing this deserves a goddamn medal.”

Peridot wandered over to check out the files as Jasper made her way to the boards, looking over then with a thoughtful frown.

“And the statues?” Jasper asked, lingering in front of one of the pictures.

“Freaky as hell and uncanny in their resemblance. No information to be gathered from them, though, we’ve dusted for prints and searched for DNA and  _ nothing _ . It’s like they just… appeared. There aren’t even any toolmarks.”

Jasper looked over at Peridot, who was flipping through the files.

“Have you spoken to the wives and girlfriends?” She asked.

Jess walked over and picked up another folder, flipped it open.

“Yeah. They’re easy enough to find; most of them have spent time at the battered women’s shelter downtown. A couple are still there.” She turned the folder around to show two pictures, one of them with black hair and one with blonde. “Marie Wagner and Lisa Barnett, plus Lisa’s boy Kyle. He’s four.”

Peridot pulled out her phone and started taking pictures of the files. Jasper did the same with the boards.

“We can get you copies of the files,” Jess said. Jasper looked over her shoulder with a little  _ hm _ .

“Just easier to have it on our phones,” Peridot said. Jasper inclined her head towards the smaller woman as a sort of agreement.

When they got back to the van, Jasper working her tie loose again with a sigh.

“I’ve never heard of a basilisk or a cockatrice with a type,” she grunted.

“But those statues… they were definitely turned to stone. It’s gotta be  _ something _ magical.”

Jasper nodded grimly.

“And something smart enough to choose its victims.”

“I mean, d’you think it could be, like, Medusa?” Peridot asked as Jasper pulled out of the parking lot.

“Even if Medusa was real, she was killed by Perseus a long time ago.”

Peridot fell silent and Jasper kept driving. It was quiet for a bit, just the songs on the radio, until Peridot spoke up again.

“…do we really need to do anything, though? I mean… those guys sounded…”

“Don’t start,” Jasper said. Then she sighed. “Truth be told, I was wondering the same.”

Peridot leaned back in her seat with a little grumbling sound. Jasper glanced over with a raised eyebrow.

“Miss Heroic having second thoughts about the job?”

“Well, I mean-” Peridot paused like she was searching for words, then shook her head. “If it’s taking out bad people… is it really that bad?”

“Taking out the right people is fine and dandy until they get it wrong. And besides, if we don’t do it, someone else might.”

“If it’s smart enough to pick targets, maybe it can be reasoned with,” Peridot murmured. Jasper shrugged.

“Worth a try. We just have to  _ find it _ now. Whatever it is.”

Peridot fell silent and closed her eyes, phone in hand. She spoke up after a while.

“There are several myths and legends involving petrification, but it looks like the most likely candidate would be a Gorgon, like Medusa. Her sisters were- are? immortal, so maybe they’re… I don’t know.” She sighed. “I don’t know why one would end up  _ here _ , but it’s more likely than a very smart basilisk.”

They parked the van on the side of the road nearest one of the statue locations and went to investigate.

Jasper walked around the statue of a young man, frozen in fear and surprise, her own expression thoughtful. Taken simply as a statue, it was an unsettling but impeccable likeness.

“Which one is this?”

“Robert Barton. Rapist.”

Jasper grunted and stepped back, then landed a kick directly in the middle of the statues chest, sending it crashing to the ground. It shattered into shards of rock, and half-buried in one of the larger pieces was a human heart.

“Jasper!” Peridot squeaked, stepped back. “Was that  _ necessary?! _ ”

“He didn’t feel it,” Jasper grumped. “And anyway, look. Fucker really was petrified. He’s  _ been _ dead.”

Peridot looked at the heart and shuddered.

“What a way to go, though.”

Jasper shrugged.

“Beats drowning.”

Peridot made a face and circled around the shattered remains of the man.

“Can you smell anything?”

“Mh,” Jasper made a little neutral sound. “Stone and garbage, mostly. Something I don’t recognize, might be what we’re looking for.”

She nudged a few pieces of broken statue with her shoe, hands in her pockets.

“Might as well check out the shelter while we’re out,” Peridot said, sort of glancing at the heart for a moment and grimacing.

“Mmhmm,” Jasper said, looking over at her. She stepped between Peridot and the statue and waved the smaller woman away. “Go. Back to the van.”

“Pushy, pushy,” Peridot said. “Put your tie back on if we’re going to the shelter.”

“You just like seeing me in a suit,” Jasper taunted. Peridot’s cheeks turned pink before she straightened and turned around, stalked her way awkwardly towards the van. Jasper laughed. Cute.

At the women’s shelter, Jasper flashed her badge to the woman who answered the door.

“I’ll get Yanna,” she said and disappeared, shutting the door back. Jasper blinked. Okay.

A different woman appeared this time, with olive-brown skin that spoke of mediterranean descent. A pastel pink hijab was draped around her head.

“Yanna Pachis,” She said. Jasper raised her badge.

“Agent Joan Cena, this is Agent Jobs. We just have a few questions for you and some of your residents.”

“The disappearances? The police already took statements,” Yanna narrowed her eyes.

“It’s just routine, Miss Pachis. Covering all our bases.”

The woman sighed and seemed to relax a bit. She stepped back and opened the door.

“Fine. Marie and Lisa are in the back room.”

Jasper looked at Peridot and inclined her head in that direction. The smaller woman took off into the house, and Jasper stepped inside shortly after. The house held a hint of the same unfamiliar scent she’d found around the statue of Robert Barton.

“Yanna,” Jasper started as the other woman closed the door behind her. “You know the wives and girlfriends of the victims?”

“Every single one,” she said, fire in her tone. “Every one of them has been here at some point. Some of them multiple times, like Lisa and her boy. We’ve been more of a family to little Kyle than her abusive ass of a husband ever was.”

Jasper nodded, slipping one hand into her pocket and gesturing a bit with the other.

“And would you say any of them had it in her to… remove her husband from the picture?”

“Not a one. These women are the sweetest, kindest people I’ve ever met. Some of them are still mourning those human garbage fires, even after everything they’ve been through.”

Jasper let out a little  _ huh. _

“And have you noted anything different or strange recently?” Jasper asked. “Unfamiliar people or animals around, strange happenings?”

“What? No.” Yanna’s brows furrowed, an odd expression on her face. “Why would you ask that?”

“It’s standard. We want to find the perpetrator before any more people disappear.”

“Honestly,” Yanna said, crossing her arms, “If they’re more people like those abusive pieces of shit, you should give the perp a medal.”

“Law enforcement and the judicial system exist for a reason,” Jasper said, her eyebrow twitching a bit. She was honestly more inclined to agree with Yanna here. “Nobody is above the law, ma’am.”

Yanna stepped back and beckoned Jasper to follow. Jasper complied, confused. She led her to the back room, where there were beds lined up against the walls and through the middle of the room.

“There are rarely nights where these beds aren’t full. People like Edwin Barnett and Tyler Wagner are why. Men who treat women and children like chattel, beat them, rape them, break their bodies and minds. I do what I can to help them, but I have next to no funding. The best I can manage, usually, is a bed and a hot meal. These women need therapists and legal counsel, and all I can afford is a cot and a can of soup. That someone is out there seeking vengeance for their pain is a  _ comfort _ to me and many of them as well.”

Jasper looked over the room and sighed, chest heavy with righteous anger.

Yanna pointed at the bulky form of a tall, portly woman. Half of her face was bruised, and Jasper could see the purple shape of a hand on her arm. The skin of her thick neck was red and purple as well.

“This is the fifth time Catrin’s come to us for help. Her husband drinks and forces himself on her. Beats her when she cries. She can’t afford a night at a hotel to get away from him, much less a lawyer to press charges. She deserves justice. Every one of the women here deserve justice, and all I can give them is somewhere safe for a night or two. Whoever is responsible for those men’s disappearances, I thank them.”

Jasper looked at the beaten woman and a little growl grew in her chest.

“Catrin’s husband…where does he live?” Jasper asked. Yanna pulled out a business card and a pen to scribble the address down. Jasper tucked it in her pocket.

“Name’s Richard Stanton.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Jasper grunted.

The sun was setting when she showed up at the apartment and demanded Peridot stay in the van, slamming her door behind her before climbing up the steps, still in her suit.

The man that showed up when she knocked was thinner than she expected, lean muscle, pale skin flushed from drink. Prematurely balding.

“Richard Stanton?”

“Who’s askin’,” he grunted.

“Me, Dick. I’m here to talk to you about your wife.”


	16. Rock Bottom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper and Peridot struggle with the best way to address this whole "terrible people turning into statues" ordeal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry I didn't update for two days!! friday and saturday are my days off and i spend most of them sleeping orz
> 
> more mentions of abuse and rape in this one, but not as much as the last. just warning.

“That slut send you? Where the fuck even is she,” Richard grunted. Jasper’s expression darkened as she pushed her way into the man’s apartment

Jasper barely let the man finish before she was pushing the door open further and strongarming her way in.

“Hey-! Fucking lazy piece of shit bitch won’t even show her face-”

She didn’t even shut the door behind her before her fist connected directly with his face. She pulled the punch, not wanting to use her full superhuman strength on him; a swift knockout would be too good for this garbage.

There was the satisfying  _ crunch _ of his nose breaking under her knuckles and she  _ grinned _ , shook the blood from her hand.

He let out a string of curses, called her a crazy bitch.

“Yeah,” Jasper said, still grinning. “Yeah, I am.”

She landed another punch, this one to his chest. The wheeze he let out at the contact sent a thrill through her, a wild light in her eyes. She wanted him to suffer, as much as he’d made his innocent wife suffer. He deserved it.

She grabbed him by his thinning hair and bounced his head off the wall, laughing. He seemed to have decided talking was useless, and she had to agree.

Very rarely had she ever felt such righteous anger.

Richard stumbled backwards, wobbly, and then scrambled to pick up a wooden baseball bat that had been near the wall, clearly something that had seen some use.

He swung it at Jasper and she caught it in her hand, grinned at him.

“You hit her with this?”

She yanked it out of his hand and broke it over her knee, tossed the splintered halves aside. By now, Richard was breathing heavy and streaming blood, shuffling back and trying to look for some kind of escape with Jasper between him and the still-open door.

Jasper backhanded him and he crumpled to the floor, where she landed a swift kick to his side.

“How does it feel, Dick? You like this?” She landed another kick and the man whimpered beneath her, curled up into a shaking ball. “You think Catrin likes this?”

Another kick, this time near his lower back, eliciting a pained cry and babbled begging to  _ stop, please, no, stop, _ and she growled.

“Do you stop when she begs?”

Another kick landed between his shoulder blades and he let out a loud, sobbing cry. Jasper reared back for another kick, breathing heavy herself more from anger than exertion.

“Jasper!”

The sound of Peridot’s voice broke through her rage and she paused, turned some. Richard didn’t even move, just quivered in fear in a ball on the floor.

Jasper watched as Peridot looked from her to the bloodied man on the floor and back, and there was fear in the smaller woman’s eyes. Jasper glanced down at Richard and seemed to deflate, breathing slowing and expression softening from anger to guilt. She looked down at the pathetic ball on the floor and turned away.

“Let’s go back to the hotel,” She said with a grunt.

The ride back was silent, and Jasper could tell Peridot was wanting to say something but seemed… afraid. But when they pulled in outside their motel room, Peridot finally spoke up.

“Did it feel good?”

Jasper looked over at her, surprised. Peridot turned red and looked away.

“…yeah,” Jasper said quietly. “It felt right.”

And that’s what she was afraid of. That she felt so strongly that a human monster, not a  _ magical _ one, deserved to suffer.

She still wasn’t sure if she’d have stopped before she killed him, and that thought was terrifying. He was human. Mundane. There was no bounty out. And she…

She shook her head.

It had felt right. It had felt like she was fighting one of the beasts she hunted. The fear in his eyes felt  _ good. _

“I think I get it now,” she said softly. “I wanted to stop him like we stop any other monster.”

“You wanted to kill him, too, huh?” Peridot said quietly.

There sat silently in the van for a while, the both of them lost in thought.

“Sometimes,” Jasper broke the silence with a sigh. “I forget that humans can be just as bad. Thinking of them as just victims, like they didn’t do anything to deserve what happened to them…”

“Do we really need to stop this one?” Peridot asked. Jasper just sighed and stepped out of the van.

She didn’t  _ want _ to stop this one. If it was taking out men who deserved it…

But just because  _ she _ didn’t want to kill it… other hunters might not feel the same way. And at the very least, she wanted whatever it was killing those men to  _ survive. _ It was doing society, and those poor women, a favor.

“Those men are getting what they deserve,” Jasper grunted before she flopped unceremoniously onto the nearest motel bed, staring up at the ceiling. “But we can’t just let a vigilante keep petrifying people, if only because that puts  _ them _ in danger of other hunters coming for them…”

Peridot flopped down beside her with a sigh, the smaller woman facedown on the bed, her words muffled but easy enough to hear with Jasper’s superhuman senses.

“The original Medusa myth had Poseidon raping Medusa in Athena’s temple, and Athena turning her into a Gorgon in retaliation… maybe this is a Gorgon getting the justice that was denied to Medusa.”

Jasper sighed.

“I can’t believe that actually sounds plausible.”

“Right? What has my life become.”

“Well, you asked for this,” Jasper said with a huff of laughter in her voice. “Demanded it, even.”

“I thought I’d be hunting down creepy-crawlies like hellhounds, not Gorgon Batman.”

“I mean, we do hunt things like hellhounds. That’s mostly our thing. Batman is new.”

“So we find the Gorgon and tell them they need to chill,” Peridot said, raising her head and resting it on her folded arms. “Shouldn’t be too hard to find a six foot tall naga with snakes for hair.”

“…naga?”

“Yeah like. A centaur but with a snake instead of a horse. I thought you were the expert on this sort of thing.”

“I’m not a walking monster encyclopedia, Peridot,” Jasper grumbled. She didn’t actually sound irritated, more amused than anything else.

They were quiet a while longer; Jasper, at least, just didn’t want to move now that she’d laid down.

“Now we just need to figure out how to get close to a petrifying monster without getting Michelangelo’d ourselves.”

Peridot laughed and raised a hand. From the flask on her belt rose a silvery ribbon of mercury, and she gestured until it was over Jasper’s face, warping into amorphous reflective shapes.

“Remember this? Mercury used to be used in mirrors. We can use it  _ as _ a mirror.”

“…isn’t it toxic?” Jasper asked, watching the undulating blob nonetheless.

“Well, yeah, but we’re not gonna  _ touch _ it. Just look at it. The mercury helps keep you from getting petrified by looking at a reflection; it absorbs the magic or something. I read it on the internet.”

“Huh,” Jasper said distractedly.

“I’ve gotten pretty good at moving it around and stuff. It’s easier than working with solid metal, just… different.”

“Gonna give up on the sawblades?”

“What?” Peridot snorted. “No, just adding to my repertoire. A flask looks normal. It’s not like I can walk around with sawblades strapped to my hips.”

“I do it with my machete.”

“Well you’re also like seven feet tall and made of angry so I don’t think people are going to question you.”

Jasper snorted and then tried to cover up the fact that she almost laughed by leaning over and ruffling Peridot’s hair with a heavy hand.

“Alright runty, let’s get some rest.”

“Oi! Leave my hair alone!” Peridot tried to fix it back into place with a little huff.

“What, like it’s gonna bite me?” Jasper taunted.

Then she froze and blinked.

“Snakes for hair,” she said distractedly.

“What?” Peridot asked. “Yeah, Gorgons have-”

“We need to get back to the shelter.”

“What? Jasper-”

Jasper leaped up off the bed and turned around, reaching down to tug on the waist of Peridot’s slacks.

“C’mon. I know who it is.”

They set off for the shelter with Jasper at the wheel, still in now-slightly-rumpled suits. Jasper clambered out of the van when they arrived, and Peridot was barely halfway out when she returned.

“She’s not here,” she breathed. “I know where she’s going. I think.”

The ride back to the Stanton apartment was rushed and dangerous, Jasper taking turns so sharp and fast that it felt like the van’s tires lost connection with the road several times. The van screeched to a halt near the door and Jasper left it running as she took the steps in a giant leap and pushed through the still-open door.

“Yanna!” Jasper breathed, panting softly. It took her a moment to realize that she was looking at the back of a six-foot-tall, olive-toned serpentine form instead of the shorter, slender, definitely human form of the shelter’s administrator. Richard Stanton was already gone; in his place was a battered, terrified stone statue.

The beast began to turn, and for a moment Jasper was almost too stunned to move.

“Jasper!” Peridot called, and Jasper’s field of vision became silvery-white in an instant. She blinked at her own reflection and flinched as Peridot ran up behind her and jumped to smack her in the back of the head.

“You fucking  _ clod! _ Think for like a  _ second! _ ”

“Brat!”

“ _ GORGON.” _

Jasper blinked. Oh, right.

“Yanna?” Jasper started, trying to make her voice level, the layer of mercury still between them. “We’re not going to hurt you. We just want to talk.”

“You’re… not feds,” the gorgon hissed. Jasper was briefly surprised that her “s” wasn’t drawn out like she had expected. She could definitely still see the coils of a snake from underneath the mercury.

“No. We’re hunters. But we don’t want to hurt you,” Jasper reiterated.

“Honestly, we don’t even really wanna stop you,” Peridot added. Jasper would have stomped on her foot if that didn’t run the risk of dropping the mercury shield.

“Can we talk without getting turned to stone?”

“...very well.”

Jasper watched the scales beneath the shield as they twisted and warped upwards, until there were a pair of pale pink sneakers on very human feet.

“Is your head covered?” Jasper asked.

“Are you asking because I’m Muslim or because you’re afraid I might petrify you?”

Jasper paused. Blinked.

“I’m not sure. Both?”

“In that case, yes. Thank you for being honest. You’re safe.”

The mercury shield between them dribbled away as Peridot returned it to her flask. Yanna, the shelter’s administrator, stood in Richard Stanton’s living room, feet planted and arms crossed in front of her.

“So you’re the one who’s been petrifying people,” Jasper started. Yanna looked away with a frown and nodded.

“I got tired of being unable to help. Someone needed to do something. These- scum, this human garbage, someone needed to stop them before they hurt anyone else--”

Jasper slipped one hand into her pocket with a nod and a sigh.

“I get it. I really do. But for the sake of those women at the shelter, you need to stop.” Yanna’s expression darkened, and Peridot had the mercury at the ready again. Jasper held out her hand to stop her partner’s advance.

“I’m doing this  _ for them-- _ ”

“Yes. But this isn’t what they need from you.” Jasper let her hand fall back to her side. “Therapy and legal counsel, you said. If I can guarantee you the funding, would you make sure it went to help them?”

“That still won’t stop these monsters from hurting them again,” she hissed.

“Maybe not,” Jasper said. She was trying to keep her voice low, steady, calming. It was difficult, knowing that at any given moment Yanna could change into a gorgon and turn her to stone. “But we were able to track you down. And we aren’t the only hunters out there. And,” Jasper’s voice lowered and she looked at the statue of Richard Stanton for a moment before returning her attention to Yanna. “I can’t guarantee anyone else will see things your way. You’ve got to stop before you get caught and killed. Those women need you more than they need vengeance.”

She could see Yanna’s expression changing, going from anger to fear as she raised her hands to cover her mouth. It looked like she was about to cry.

“I can’t leave them,” she said quietly.

“Exactly,” Jasper replied, still trying to keep her tone level and soft, a skill she was admittedly terrible at. “If you stop now, we’ll make sure other hunters know it’s been taken care of. Keep them off your back. Peridot here can get you whatever you need, money-wise. We’ll get you that funding. Just, please, for your sake and those women’s sakes,  _ please _ stop this.”

Yanna, teary-eyed, nodded. Jasper held out her hand.

“Give me your phone.” Yanna paused, but Peridot had it under control, pulling the phone out of Yanna’s pocked and floating it over to her own hand. She went to work immediately, bypassing the passcode with her skills. The gorgon looked shocked and worried.

“I’m putting Jasper’s number in,” Peridot said, a bit distracted. “If you need anything, just call us. If another hunter comes snooping, let us know, and we’ll do what we can. Just keep those women safe, okay?”

Peridot handed Yanna her phone back, and Yanna nodded.

“No more petrifying assholes?” Jasper asked Yanna nodded again.

“I can’t help anyone if I’m dead,” she said, thoughtful.

“Exactly,” Jasper said with a sigh. “Now let’s get out of here before the cops show up.”


	17. Love and Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pairs of people are dying of dehydration for no discernible reason.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not gonna lie this one and the next are gonna be a little ridiculous and i apologize in advance

“Eros. Eros, Massachusetts. What a name,” Peridot said, looking through her laptop.

“Huh?” Jasper looked up from her phone. “New job?”

“It’s another charity case,” she said, tone wary. “But it’s definitely our kind of thing.”

Jasper sighed and lowered her phone at that.

“What are we looking at.”

“Three separate cases of death by dehydration. Six victims.”

“…are you sure that’s our sort of thing,” Jasper grumped. She didn’t care that they were less than four hours away from Massachusetts. She didn’t want to take a charity case just because it was close.

“Well, I mean. They weren’t homeless or anything. They died of dehydration in houses with easy access to water. They just… didn’t drink it. And they apparently didn’t eat or sleep, either. They were found on the couch or the bed in pairs, cuddled up together.”

“That sounds absolutely ridiculous,” Jasper grunted. But, well…

“Exactly. If it was just one case, whatever, chalk it up to humans being weird. But three?”

“Definitely worth checking into,” Jasper said with a sigh. “We’re taking a paid job after this, though, I swear to God, Peri.”

“You know we can just go back to Vegas,” Peridot said. “Next time we get a job around there, I could just cheat another slot machine. I’m going to get kicked out of every casino on the Strip if it kills me.”

Jasper snorted in an attempt to keep from laughing.

“Okay, okay, charity case it is. I can’t believe we’re going non-profit.”

“Alternative revenue stream,” Peridot said with a grin.

“Theft,” Jasper said with a laugh.

“Theft,” Peridot repeated and echoed Jasper’s laugh. “Theft from people who won’t even notice it’s gone.”

“Alright, then. To Eros.”

They piled into the van with their things and started heading north.

“Can you even think of anything that might cause this?” Peridot asked.

“Not that I know of. Something that absorbs bodily fluids?”

“I don’t think so,” Peridot said. “I mean, from what it sounds like, they just… stopped eating and drinking. Most people can only last three days without water. Whatever it was, it was more important than basic human needs.”

“And the couples died in each others’ arms?” Jasper said thoughtfully.

“Yeah. And probably not even at the same time. Can you imagine cuddling a corpse?”

Jasper grimaced and glanced over at Peridot.

“That’s disgusting.”

“Isn’t it though?” Peridot asked, still searching through things on her computer. “I’ll have the police reports and autopsy information here in just a bit. Eros doesn’t have the most organized of systems.”

Jasper was trying her best to think of what would even potentially cause something like this. Some kind of mind control? Vampire glamour? But- vampires would have at least drank their blood, a much quicker death than dehydration… and probably less horrifying, honestly.

Incubus? Succubus? They feed off life energy, but it’s sexual energy, not… cuddling.

“Oxytocin,” Peridot said finally. “Every one of them had oxytocin levels through the roof. All I can think of is that they were just enjoying cuddling so much that they didn’t want to do anything else.”

“Who the fuck gets so busy cuddling that they forget to do simple things like not die.”

Peridot shrugged.

“Beats me. I mean, there’s no signs of foul play. They literally just… cuddled each other to death.”

“Death by Care Bear,” Jasper let out a little laugh. “I mean, is there anything online that says what it might be?”

“I mean, a place with a name like Eros, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the Actual Literal God of Love up to something… wait, does the Greek pantheon actually exist?”

“Peridot, we just talked a gorgon out of a petrification spree. I wouldn’t be surprised if Zeus his-damn-self came down and tried to fuck us.”

“God, I hope not,” Peridot’s face screwed up into a grimace. “Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, hell yeah. But… not Zeus. Jesus, never Zeus.”

Jasper flushed at the list of potential goddesses that Peridot would be interested in, definitely noting that these were, in fact, goddesses instead of gods. Yes, she had an inkling that Peridot, too, wasn’t into men, but… the confirmation sent a little shiver through her. Fear? Hope?

Jasper shook her head.

“Never Zeus,” she added with a little huff of laughter. “Artemis, though…”

Peridot laughed, too, her face tinting pink.

They pulled into a motel in Eros and set up shop, Peridot searching online for anything that might be causing the strange deaths. Jasper settled back with her phone to search for anything suspicious that might be connected to the recent deaths.

She let out a soft huh after a while and started scrolling more, searching deeper into the records.

“Found something. Ten years ago, same thing happened. Five couples died of dehydration in each others’ arms, in houses with running water. And ten years before that, same thing. Five couples. Maybe further back, if we look at the records in the library. But it looks like whatever it is, it has a pattern.”

“Yeah, and there’s still two couples left for this one. So maybe we can stop this before the last four victims go down.”

“Yeah,” Jasper said with a frown. “If we can figure out what it is. Any luck?”

“Nothing,” Peridot sighed. “The best I can find is that they’re all within one mile of the public library.”

“The public library that’s two blocks down from us?” Jasper asked. They’d passed it on their way in; a towering stone structure that looked like it had been around for a hundred years, maybe more.

“Mmhmm,” murmured Peridot, still focusing mostly on the computer. “There’s nothing else really… close to the center of the attacks. We could always go and check.”

“Probably closed now,” Jasper said with a grunt. “We could check where the people died?”

“They all lived alone, from what I could tell. We’ll have to wait until later to break in. We don’t want to deal with cops.”

“So we research the library. And then maybe break into it later tonight, too.”

“Busy night,” Peridot said.

“C’est la vie,” Jasper responded.

Jasper and Peridot both returned their attentions to their respective tech, but before too long Jasper was just sighing and setting her phone aside.

“I’m getting a laptop. Trying to find anything on this thing is such a headache.”

“Well, with those big meaty paws, I’m not surprised.”

“You making a wolf joke?”

“I’m making a your-hands-are-huge joke.”

“You know what they say about-”

“Jasper I will get you a laptop tomorrow as long as you don’t finish that sentence.”

Jasper laughed.

“Deal.”

Peridot returned her attention to the laptop, and Jasper pushed herself off the bed to pace slowly.

“Library’s been vandalized,” Peridot said. “There was a series of little angel statues across the front, four of them, well above anywhere anyone should be able to climb up to, and they disappeared a couple of weeks ago. Not long before the start of the dehydrations…”

Jasper made a little huh sound and her brow furrowed.

“What did they look like?”

Peridot turned the laptop towards Jasper after a moment or two. There was a statue of a small, chubby baby angel crouched on the corner of the library’s roof.

“…Putto,” Jasper said after a moment.

“I’m sorry, what did you call me?” Peridot said. Jasper rolled her eyes.

“Ha. That’s puta, shortstack. That,” and she pointed at the picture, “Is a putto. Plural putti. Put a bow and arrow in its hand and what do you see?”

Peridot turned the laptop around and made a little huh sound.

“…Cupid.”

“Exactly. I think we found what’s cuddling people to death.”

“But how are they doing it? And why? And how do we stop them?” Peridot asked, pensive.

“That would be great to know,” Jasper said with a sigh, reaching for her phone and starting to text her contact. “I’ll see what Sapphire has to say about putti. In the meantime, let’s see what we can see where the last victims died. Maybe there’ll be clues.”

Peridot’s ferrokinesis was the best lockpick Jasper had ever seen. No scratches, no fumbling, just hovering her hand over the doorknob for a brief moment or two before hearing the satisfying click of the tumblers falling into place.

They entered the house with flashlights at the ready and Jasper wrinkled her nose at the lingering smell of decay.

“One of them had to have died well before the other for it to smell like this,” she grunted. She swept her flashlight over the couch and saw the stain of putrefaction on the fabric, made a face. “This is disgusting.”

“To think someone was just… sitting there… holding a corpse… until they died,” Peridot said softly, just behind Jasper.

“Creepy.”

“Maybe a little romantic, in a Tim Burton-esque way.”

“But mostly creepy.”

“Yeah, mostly creepy.”

Jasper swept her flashlight through the room, looking for anything that might have indicated what was going on. The room seemed frustratingly innocuous, just the average living room for a young couple in a small apartment, a simple television and sparse decorations, with a collection of DVDs off in a corner. Little details of their lives before… all this.

She could smell something strange in the air, yes, but she couldn’t place it. Stone, and clean, and something she’d never smelled before.

“There’s a scent I don’t recognize. Could be a putto.”

“You keep saying that and all I can think of is-”

“Puta?”

“Coming from you, yeah.”

Jasper laughed.

“Puto is masculine. And believe me, saying this about,” she waved her hand around in the air a bit. “-baby angels feels like a special kind of sacrilege. But putto has two t’s. I keep reminding myself that and I feel less like a godless heathen.”

“You are a godless heathen,” Peridot laughed, teasing.

Jasper flashed her light in Peridot’s eyes in response.

Peridot made an indignant nasal sound and raised an arm to shield her eyes.

“Ass!”

“Brat!” Jasper said with a laugh. There was no malice in her tone.

“Now I can’t  _ see. _ ”

Jasper was about to say something when she picked up the sound of sirens, face twitching a bit.

“You don’t need to. We’re done here. Out. Someone called the cops.”

It was a mad scramble to get out of the house and into the van, tires screeching a bit as Jasper took off in the opposite direction of the sirens, not caring where they were headed at first just as long as they put plenty of space between themselves and the police.

Jasper finally pulled into the motel parking lot and sighed, leaned back in her seat.

“So there’s nothing helpful where they died. And Sapphire hasn’t responded yet, so she’s either asleep or can’t find any information on them, which is… great.”

“How do you get rid of baby angels?”

“Beats me,” Jasper grunted. “I don’t really have experiences with angels. I wasn’t even sure they existed until today.”

Peridot groaned.

“So there are four more people that might die if we don’t figure this out.”

They headed into the motel and Jasper sat on the edge of one of the beds while Peridot collapsed on her back next to her with a longsuffering sigh.

“So it’s a waiting game now,” she said. Jasper nodded with a heavy sigh of her own.

They were quiet and pensive for a while before Peridot spoke up.

“What if they aren’t actually angels?” she asked. Jasper looked over at her with a confused expression on her face, eyebrow raised. “No, really. The library is missing its baby angel statues. There are stories in several different religions about statues coming to life. Pygmalion and Galatea, Jewish golems, gargoyles. Even The Gingerbread Man fairy tale or Pinocchio. Inanimate figures becoming animate is… not a new concept.”

“But why would they be making people cuddle to death?” Jasper asked, perfectly fine with accepting Peridot’s theory at this point. They didn’t have anything else to go on.

“Dunno. But with the ten-year patterns, maybe they’re… Iunno, bored or something.”

“But it’s like clockwork. There’s gotta be  _ some _ kind of importance to it.”

Peridot patted Jasper’s back, only able to reach just above her butt.

“If all else fails, we find some way to hunt down baby angel statues and smash them with a bat or something.”

Jasper made a soft little  _ hm _ sound, thoughtful.

“I don’t think they’re stone right now,” she said. “I think people would notice if stone statues were suddenly appearing nearby.”

“Bugger,” Peridot groaned.

“Yeah,” Jasper breathed. Her phone buzzed and she perked up some as she looked for it. “Oh! Sapph’s got info-”

She scrolled down a bit, reading, as Peridot sat up in interest.

“Okay. Putti are spirits that can inhabit art and architecture like those chubby baby angels you see in every baby boomer’s bathroom. They’re usually harmless, generating and feeding off love energy, but Sapph thinks these ones are old and too high up to feed off people, so they binge and live off that energy until it’s depleted.”

“So… how do we stop it?”

Jasper shrugged.

“She says there’s an incantation that might turn them back to stone, but once they run out of energy, they’ll still want to feed again.”

“So we find them, turn them to stone, and smash them,” Peridot said. She paused and wrinkled her nose. “I feel bad about smashing little baby angel statues, though…”

Jasper shrugged.

“I mean, we could move them somewhere they can feed constantly so they don’t have to binge… but there’s no way to make sure the city won’t put them back on top of the library.” Jasper shrugged a bit. “On the bright side, they aren’t actual angels.”

“There is that,” Peridot said as she flopped backwards again, sighing. “Think if we asked nicely they’d stop?”

“Ha. Maybe we can put them in a church or something. Let them feed off the love of the pious.”

“That’s assuming we can even find them,” Peridot groaned.

“All else fails, they finish their binge and we take care of them once they’re back to the library. I’d hate to sacrifice the last four people if we don’t have to, but…”

“Worst case scenario,” Peridot said with a sigh. “In the meantime, we try to figure out some way to track them. You said they were spirits. Think we could ding them with an EMF detector?”

“I dunno. Worth a shot. I’ve got one in the van.”

“Is there anything you  _ don’t _ have back there?”

“My virginity.”

“Oh my God. Jasper. Why.”

Jasper just laughed and let her hand rest heavily on Peridot’s thigh, rubbing absently.

“We can hit up the house again tomorrow with the EMF detector and the FBI getups if anyone asks.”

Peridot gave a little affirmative grunt and rubbed Jasper’s lower back idly.

“For now,” Jasper said, stretching and letting out a breathy groan, “We should get some sleep.”

Peridot murmured a soft  _ mmhmm _ and yawned, sitting up. Jasper leaned over and pressed a light kiss to Peridot’s forehead, the smaller woman’s face tinting pink, before heading over to her own bed.

“Goodnight, Peridot.”

“Uh- g-goodnight, Jasper.”


	18. Love to Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding the remaining targets proves more difficult than previously expected due to some... minor difficulties.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is one of the most ridiculous things i've written and i swear i can write better than the silliness implies ok oTL

When they woke up the next morning, Peridot went to her laptop on the side table and settled in. Jasper sat beside her, sipping black coffee with her feet propped up on the bed.

“They found more bodies,” Peridot said with a sigh. “It’s in the local news again. Autopsy report shows the same “symptoms” as the last three cases.”

“Damn. So that’s one last pair to go.”

“Yeah,” Peridot said. She rested her feet up on the bed as well and sort of halfway rubbed one of her feet against Jasper’s. “With no leads. We can go check the EMF at the new location…”

Jasper glanced over at their feet on the bed and lazily rubbed against Peridot’s foot in response.

“Mmhmm, probably our best bet. Maybe if we’re lucky they’ll have clues as to how the putti choose their victims.”

Peridot gave a noncommittal grunt, and it took them both several long moments before they got up to change into their suits. Jasper didn’t want to end the absent touches to get dressed and into the van, but she did. She had a job to do.

The ride to the new location was quick; it, too, was close to the library.

“Agent Diane Chapman, this is Agent Tesla. We’re here to look at the scene.” Jasper flashed her badge at the officer near the door.

“There’s no sign of foul play,” the officer said. “Nothing to see, really. But go ahead.”

Jasper stepped into the house with Peridot almost immediately behind her, and as she returned her badge to her pocket and pulled out the EMF detector, Peridot pressed close and slipped her hand in Jasper’s free hand.

Jasper blushed a bit but gave her hand a little squeeze as she turned on the detector.

It immediately went haywire, giving off loud, quick beeps and flashing little green and yellow lights. Jasper jumped in surprise and had to release Peridot’s hand to abruptly turn it off, blinking, wide-eyed.

“W-well, uh, we know they give off EMF,” Jasper said as she tried to relax again. Peridot’s hand rested on the small of her back and she let out a long breath, calming down quickly. “Why’s it so strong, though… there isn’t anything in the room that should be giving off such a high frequency-”

“Think they could still be here?” Peridot asked, her hand still resting against Jasper’s back.

“No reason to be. There’s nothing left to feed on.”

“We could always test the other sites,” Peridot said, leaning a bit against Jasper.

“Mmhmm,” came the werewolf’s slightly-distracted response. “Might as well.”

The location they’d been at the night before gave the same response. Peridot pressed against Jasper as they both looked at the haywire EMF detector.

“Think it’s broken?” Peridot asked.

“It’s no different from the last,” Jasper grunted, turning it over and looking at the black plastic box curiously. She walked around the room, EMF reader held up, trying to track any fluctuations as Peridot followed behind her closely, to the point where when Jasper stopped, she bumped into her back. Jasper reached behind her to rest a steadying hand on Peridot’s hip.

“Should we check the others?” Peridot asked. “Do you think they’re all like this?”

“Dunno,” Jasper grunted. She didn’t  _ want _ to check every site; she wanted to go back to their room and relax with Peridot. But this was their job, and there were still two people they might be able to save.

“Might as well,” Peridot sighed. It sounded like she was fighting with the same reluctance Jasper was.

The EMF detector went haywire at the other locations as well. At the last one, Jasper sighed and stored it in her pocket.

“So we have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on about any sort of pattern. So there are two more people who are going to die unless we pull something out of thin air.”

“Yeah, I…” Peridot sighed and leaned heavily against Jasper, reaching to slip her hand inside the werewolf’s. “Maybe we should go back to the hotel and regroup.”

Jasper gave Peridot’s hand a light squeeze.

“The hotel sounds good. We could check the library, but I don’t… think there will be any clues there, either…”

Peridot gave a little affirmative  _ mn! _ Sound, nodding, and tugged Jasper lightly towards the door.

Jasper tossed her jacket onto one of the chairs as she walked into the hotel room, then kicked her shoes off and loosened her tie.

She collapsed onto her back on the nearest bed with a groan.

“This is ridiculous,” she sighed. “We have nothing to go on. No way to help.”

Peridot kicked her shoes off and dropped her jacket next to Jasper’s, pulling her tie off and unbuttoning the top of her shirt a bit. She flopped onto her back as well, next to Jasper, and slipped her hand into Jasper’s with a little squeeze.

“I think we’re gonna have to just accept that people are going to die,” she said quietly. “If we can’t help…”

“We can’t give up, though, can we?” Jasper asked, rubbing Peridot’s hand with her thumb. “We’ve got to keep trying. Find some way…”

“With no clues?” Peridot said. “Do we just hunt down couples who are being lovey-dovey in their own homes and bust in spouting latin?”

“Italian, actually.”

“Italian. I thought all the magic mumbo-jumbo was latin.”

“Some of it is,” Jasper said. “Depends on the source. I never want to deal with anything in Scotland or Ireland ever again. They don’t know what a vowel is.”

Peridot let out a snorting laugh at that, turning over onto her side to face Jasper and grinning.

“So you’ve dealt with something from over there?”

Jasper grinned.

“Cait sith stealing souls and leaving withered bodies behind. Had to lure it in with milk, bind it with iron, and dissipate it with a spell that I could hardly pronounce. This tongue is meant for  _ Español _ , not Gaelic.”

“That all your tongue is good for?” Peridot asked, laughing for a moment before covering her mouth and turning  _ bright _ red. “I didn’t- I was talking about-”

Jasper turned on her side, leaned in, and pulled Peridot’s hand from her mouth gently.

“Kissing?” she asked, flicking her gaze momentarily to Peridot’s lips. Peridot nodded, not making eye contact.

She leaned in and placed a little kiss on the smaller woman’s lips, lingering for just a moment before pulling back, flushed, and looking away.

“Sorry, I-”

Peridot reached up to pull Jasper into another kiss, the werewolf making a strangled surprised sound before relaxing into it and closing her eyes.

They parted, panting and flushed, and neither of them tried to make eye contact for a moment or two.

Jasper sat up first, and then Peridot followed, resting her hand on Jasper’s between them. Jasper pulled back and stood, rubbing her hand thoughtfully before heading to lie down on her back properly, head on a pillow, and sighing. She made a little gesture and Peridot looked confused for a moment before crawling up towards her and resting her head on her chest.

Jasper sighed heavily and rubbed Peridot’s back, all slow and relaxed. She could feel Peridot relaxing against her, tension ebbing out of both of their bodies.

“Why are we even doing this?” Peridot asked quietly. Jasper made a little confused sound.

“Because it’s nice?” she asked, unsure herself.

“No, I mean- hunting. I wanted to help people, but you… why are you doing it?”

Jasper shrugged.

“If I was going to do stupid, suicidal shit I figured I might as well get paid for it. I’m just waiting for the day I fuck up bad enough that I don’t have to deal with anything any more.”

Peridot trembled a little against her, and Jasper raised her hand a bit, looking down. She heard a sniffle.

“Don’t talk like that. I don’t want you to die.”

“This job only ends one way,” Jasper said softly. But then she was turning, some, to face Peridot, pulling the smaller woman close against her. “But until then, I’m here,  _ mi cielo _ .”

“…I can feel your heartbeat,” Peridot said quietly, after a few moments of silence. She curled even tighter against Jasper, finger tapping gently against Jasper’s chest in time with the beats.

Jasper pressed a kiss to the top of Peridot’s head, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Peridot giggled.

“I heard that,” she murmured, looking up at Jasper with a little grin on her face. Jasper pressed another kiss to Peridot’s forehead, the smaller woman’s face crinkling up into a little sedate grin and her eyes squeezing shut.

“You’re cute,” Jasper purred, moving a hand down to rub idly at Peridot’s hip. She heard the smaller woman let out a long, slow sigh through her nose. She blushed as she felt Peridot’s foot rubbing against her leg, and raised it to allow the smaller woman to slip her leg between Jasper’s.

They lay there wrapped up in each other without caring how long it was, too comfortable and happy to want to move. Jasper lost count of the chaste kisses and loving nuzzles they shared, just feeling so damn  _ happy _ that she didn’t want to think of anything else.

She reached her hand behind Peridot’s head to pull the smaller woman into another slow, chaste kiss, eyes closed to enjoy the contact.

She shifted her weight some, and heard the muffled sounds of wild, ecstatic beeping from her pocket. She opened her eyes and broke the kiss.

“What the-” she mumbled, confused.

“EMF detector,” Peridot said before reaching up and entwining her fingers in Jasper’s hair to pull the werewolf into another kiss. Jasper was distracted for several long moments by the kiss, ignoring the sound until she realized what it could mean.

Her eyes flew open and she pulled away. Peridot seemed to realize the same thing at the same time.

“Putti,” they said, almost simultaneously. They remained tangled up in each other, unwilling to move but aware of the danger they were in.

“Do you have the incantation?” Peridot asked. Jasper nodded.

“On my phone. Back pocket.”

Peridot moved her hand to reach into Jasper’s back pocket, the sensation sending a thrill though the werewolf, and handed the phone to Jasper.

Jasper took the phone gently and pressed a thank-you kiss to Peridot’s forehead before either of them quite realized it. She blushed abruptly and stammered an apology, Peridot doing the same, but neither of them made any move to separate.

She pulled up the incantation; it was short, only a couple of lines long, and she read it over a time or two before reading it out loud.

“ _ Spirito, spirito, spirito negano questo amore sconsolato. Perdete questa connessione e trovate sollievo nell'abbraccio della pietra.” _

Jasper expected the room to change temperatures, or a wild wind to start up, or the putti to resist somehow, but there was nothing. For a brief few moments, Jasper wondered if her cuddliness was, perhaps, unconnected to the putti problem, and her face flushed dark. If she had actually been  _ wanting _ to touch Peridot so gently and intimately--

Four soft pops, followed immediately by a series of quiet thuds, broke the silence in the room, and Jasper sat up. Peridot followed, still close to Jasper and even holding onto her arm a bit. Jasper didn’t mind.

On the floor near the bed were four small stone angels, just a touch bigger than basketballs. They all looked shocked, or perhaps a bit offended. But they didn’t look like the angels from the library, at least not any longer.

“Well… looks like them being put back up on the library’s walls isn’t a problem. Now we just need to figure out where else they might go…”

Peridot nodded, giving an enthusiastic little  _ Mn! _ from where she was still holding onto Jasper’s arm. Jasper glanced over at her, then down at the hands around her arm, and she flushed again. The touch was nice, and she didn’t… want it to end. There must have been some lingering effects, making her want to touch Peridot still, pull her into a celebratory kiss.

Ridiculous.

Jasper pushed herself up off the bed and away from Peridot, turning around to face her and rubbing the back of her neck, flushed and awkward-looking.

“Listen, I- that was- they were-”

“Relax, Jasper,” Peridot said, flashing her a sheepish grin. “We wanted to cuddle because they were feeding off of us. I get it. And I have the  _ best _ idea for my next Pierrcy fic-”

Jasper  _ snorted _ before starting to laugh a bit.

“Leave it to you to find the silver lining.”

“Silver lining? Are you kidding me? Jasper, that was the best I’ve felt in a long time.” Peridot flushed and clamped her hands over her mouth. Her next words were muffled by her hands. “I wouldn’t mind it happening again…”

Jasper gave a little  _ heh _ , still flushed and looking away.

“Yeah, it was… nice. I can’t… remember the last time I was touched that didn’t hurt.”

Peridot’s hands fell from her mouth to show her lips open in a dismayed gasp. In an instant she was standing and pressing her hands to each side of Jasper’s face.

“Jasper… you reckless idiot. You’ve got to treat yourself better.”

Jasper raised her hands to hold onto Peridot’s; she was originally going to tug them away, but she left them there, holding the backs of the smaller woman’s hands and looking away, looking guilty.

“Seriously, Jasper. Look at me. Stop trying to get yourself killed.” Jasper glanced over at her, then away again.

“I’m not trying to get myself killed.”

“You literally admitted that to me not--  _ however long ago it was. _ Stop it. We can be heroes traveling the country and working under the cover of darkness for the greater good but I swear to whatever deity is listening if you don’t  _ knock that suicidal shit off _ …” Peridot trailed off.

“Trying to think of a threat?” Jasper asked, actually smiling a bit as she looked at Peridot.

“...yes. Shut up.”

Peridot looked utterly adorable all embarrassed and frustrated like that, and Jasper found herself lifting Peridot’s hands from her cheeks and leaning in to press a kiss to the smaller woman’s forehead. Peridot looked like she was about to speak, but just fell silent and flustered.

“Nobody has to find out that we almost cuddled each other to death,” Jasper said with a dumb, rueful grin as she pulled away. “And while the effects wear off, we try to ignore it and do our job. Understood?”

“It was fun, though,” Peridot said, looking away awkwardly.

“...yeah. Yeah, it was. Now let’s get these statues somewhere they won’t kill people.”


	19. A Pack of Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What seems like a simple enough job takes a turn when Jasper and Peridot find out who- or rather, what- the victims are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh god im not dead im so sorry
> 
> if u want some Fresh New Gay Shit tailored to your interests, take a looksee at malafight on tumblr and i might be able to do something about it 8)
> 
> //blows u all a kiss

“Got a paid job for us,” Peridot said. Jasper pushed herself into a sitting position from where she’d been asleep moments before. She squinted at the smaller woman and ran her hand through her messy mane of hair. The room smelled like coffee.

“You’re up early,” she grunted. Peridot shrugged.

“Had trouble sleeping.”

“Same. Kept trying to snuggle up to someone who wasn’t there.” She didn’t even seem embarrassed about it any more; they’d taken the putti statues to a cemetery and set them up at the front gates, but even after two days, the effects still lingered. She’d started to get used to the urge to be close to Peridot constantly, resting her hand on her shoulders or entwining their fingers. She’d still flush occasionally, but the way her heart skipped a beat when she looked at, or thought of, or touched Peridot was no longer surprising. It wasn’t even annoying any more; it was rather nice to feel this  _ close _ to another person, even if she could be a bit of a pain.

Peridot, however, blushed brightly and nodded.

“S-same here,” she mumbled.

“This keeps up and I might have to buy a teddy bear,” Jasper said with a grin. “Unless you feel like sharing a bed and fixing it for both of us-” She paused, considering that for a moment, and then flushed, looked away. “Uh- just until the damn putti magic dispels, of course.”

Peridot was bright red as she nodded.

“Tonight, then,” she mumbled. Jasper nodded.

“Job?” Jasper asked, pushing herself to her feet and stretching towards the ceiling with a groan.

“Yeah, uh-” Peridot returned her attention to the laptop. “Serial killer in Ohio. Lawton. Five people so far ripped to shreds, but with some kind of symbol left behind. Cops are suspecting someone with some kind of trained beast since the bodies were definitely mutilated by an animal, but the symbol was definitely by a human.”

Jasper circled around to behind Peridot and put her hands on the smaller woman’s shoulders with a soft sigh through her nose, still slowly waking up.

“Mnh, probably a shifter of some kind, then. Symbol?”

Peridot leaned her head back some and pulled up a new file. On the screen was a picture of a wall with six vertical lines in red paint; the tops of them were all in a row, but the first and last were at least twice as long as the other four.

“It’s roughly the same between the crime scenes. Six lines, bumper two longer than the others. It’s got to have some significance, but the cops are treating it as their signature and just not looking into it.”

“And you’re suspecting it might be more because…”

Jasper rested her arms on the back of the chair and her chin on top of Peridot’s head; the smaller woman idly reached up to pat her cheek.

“Call it a hunch,” Peridot said. “It looks like it’s trying to send a message of some kind, honestly.”

“What’s the point of a message if you can’t understand it,” Jasper growled, then pushed herself away from Peridot with a pat on the smaller woman’s head. She made her way over to the complementary coffee maker and was pleased to find a pot already made, and still hot.

She poured herself a cup and then pointed at it.

“This your doing?”

“I was wondering if it’d wake you up. Looks like I was right.” Peridot flashed her a grin over the laptop. “Figured you’d appreciate that more than a kiss.”

Jasper flushed and looked away, taking a drink out of the mug and pointedly not looking at Peridot after that.

The drive to Lawton felt almost torturous. Not because it was particularly far away, but Jasper’s van had captain’s chairs, which made simple, idle touches impossible with as far away as they were forced to sit. It was relieved slightly because Peridot kept leaning over and poking Jasper’s cheek.

“Boop.”

“Again?”

“You’re driving; I can’t do anything else right now.”

Jasper rolled her eyes but ended up grinning anyway. After a while, though, Peridot unhooked her seatbelt and settled down between the captain’s chairs with her laptop, back to the front of the van. Jasper sighed as she felt Peridot’s head lean against her thigh.

“You know this isn’t safe,” she said, her voice all growly.

“I trust you to drive safely, clod.”

“Brat,” Jasper said with a little laugh.

“Ass.”

Peridot was quiet for a while, tapping away at her laptop, until she gave a little  _ hm _ and looked up at Jasper.

“Hey, so if I suddenly got turned into a vampire, what would you do?”

“Kill the vampire that turned you and keep you out of direct sunlight,” Jasper grunted, raising an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Just wondering,” she said as she started typing again.

It was quiet for a good long while again, Jasper occasionally reaching down to play idly with Peridot’s hair, until the smaller woman spoke up again.

“So, if I were a vampire… and I needed to feed… what would you do?”

“Huh?”

“Like,” Jasper looked over to see Peridot wrinkling her nose. “If I got turned into a vampire, and I needed to feed and was getting a little crazy, would you just unleash me on some poor guy somewhere?”

“No?” Jasper was thoroughly confused now. “I’d probably let you feed from me. A little anemia for a few hours is nothing for a werewolf.”

“ _ Yesssss _ , perfect!” Peridot squeaked.

Jasper glanced over at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Are you planning on getting turned into a vampire because I won’t turn you into a werewolf?”

“What? No.” Peridot sounded almost  _ offended _ . “If I could only work at night, I wouldn’t be as helpful!”

“So you’re asking because…”

“Hypothetical questions.”

“Uh-huh,” Jasper said, but she dropped the subject, instead just shaking her head and half-grinning as she watched the road ahead of them. She had the feeling that she’d delve more into the question without the lingering putti magic, but right now she was content with accepting that Peridot was just Like That sometimes, and that it was, honestly, kind of cute and endearing.

When they showed up at the Lawton police station, they found out that there had been  _ another _ death overnight. They got directions to the crime scene and jumped back into the van, following the directions to a crowd of milling officers.

“This is an active crime scene-” An officer said as they started ducking under the police tape. Jasper flashed her badge.

“Norris. Wheaton. FBI.”

“Oh-” the officer ducked aside to allow them in. “We just got the okay to send the body to the morgue, but it’s still there if you’d like a look. It… ain’t pretty.”

Jasper gave the officer a lazy two-finger salute as they continued to the handful of officers just a ways away, Peridot just behind her.

But she stopped short before getting too close, nostrils flaring and pupils shrinking to tiny pinpricks.

“P-Peri-” she stammered out, reeling back a step and grabbing for the smaller woman’s arm to ground herself. “It’s a werewolf.”

“The killer?”

“The  _ victim. _ ”

“What the- Jasper, I thought you guys were like, almost invincible?”

Jasper swallowed hard and nodded. She was trembling slightly; Peridot grabbed her hand and started rubbing the back of it, the touch helping to ground her a bit. She was so used to the magical ones being the  _ killers _ that having one be a  _ victim- _ and someone  _ like her-- _

“Th-that’s why they were torn apart. Can’t heal if you’re in pieces. If the other victims were wolves, too…”

“Do you want to go check the other crime scenes now?” Peridot asked, her voice low. Jasper nodded. She didn’t want to see this body.

“If they were torn apart, the blood would have sunk in enough to leave a scent. Let’s go.”

The second most recent crime scene was still ringed with caution tape, a dark stain on the concrete. Jasper didn’t even need to duck under the tape; she just stood at the edge, one hand gripping the plastic and shaking a bit. Her pupils were little more than pinpricks as she closed her eyes and turned away, nodding.

“This one, too.”

“And the others…”

“We’ll see.”

The third had already been cleaned, the caution tape removed, the area returned to normal foot traffic. It was harder to smell here, but by the time she got almost on top of it, Jasper could smell blood and wolf.

“That’s… three,” she said, her voice low and her heart heavy. “It’s… it can’t be a coincidence.”

“Do you want to see any others-” Peridot asked, her hand pressed in the small of Jasper’s back. Jasper’s hand shook as turned and gripped Peridot’s upper arm, tugging her back towards the van.

“No. I’ve seen enough. Something’s killing werewolves. We’re going to the hotel.”

Peridot went to get their room while Jasper paced beside the van, nervous energy suffusing her body. Something or someone was killing werewolves. Something was strong enough, fast enough, to kill people  _ like her _ . She was used to the victims being human and the monsters supernatural, not- like  _ her-- _

Jasper visibly jumped when Peridot pressed a hand against her arm, and she was halfway to swinging around for a punch when she realized what was going on. She stumbled backwards instead, stammering an apology.

“I’ve got our room,” Peridot said, either unaware of Jasper’s near-punch or ignoring it. Either way, Jasper was grateful. “C’mon.”

Peridot grabbed her hand and led her down the rows of doors until they reached the right one, pushing into it and stepping aside as Jasper followed. Jasper released her hand and was, for a few moments, mostly still, just patting her belt and pockets nervously, but then she was back to pacing in front of the TV anxiously.

“Someone’s killing werewolves,” She breathed, loosening her tie further and running her hands through her hair, almost panting a bit. “ _ Werewolves _ . We aren’t easy to kill! And now there’s six of them!”

Peridot had pulled out her laptop and was settled onto the little round table near the door, mostly just watching Jasper pace, her own demeanor growing a bit anxious as well just from how Jasper’s state of mind seemed to be filling the room.

Jasper paced. Her already-wild hair grew even more disheveled as she tugged at it, ran her fingers through it. She worried her cufflinks before she threw her jacket on the bed, and then she was just worrying her shirtcuffs. There was not a part of her that was still.

“Six! I mean, one could just be a lucky shot, but someone is  _ literally tearing us apart! _ What can even  _ do that _ , aside from- like- another shifter, a bigger were, something that could pass unnoticed among humans and catch them by surprise-”

She was panting, growing hotter and hotter as her heartbeat quickened, working herself into a tizzy as she paced and ranted. She unbuttoned her cuffs first and then started working on her collar, removing her tie and tossing it on top of the jacket and then working her way down a few buttons, revealing a white sports bra.

“Have there even been any attacks that might’ve prompted this- why would someone be taking out werewolves, and  _ only _ werewolves- what message are they even trying to send? It’s- it’s got to be the same person, right, if they were all torn apart- Goddammit, what’s even-”

She froze up at the feeling of hands on her hips and then arms wrapping around her waist. Peridot pressed her cheek against Jasper’s back and Jasper let out a long, slow breath, feeling tension flow out of her now that Peridot was back in contact with her. Briefly, she thought about how the putti’s magic had  _ some _ upsides.

“We’ll figure this out,” Peridot said, her breathing slow and easily felt against Jasper’s back. Jasper started trying to match her breaths with Peridot’s and found herself relaxing, slowly, buzzing brain quieting down some. She rested her hands on Peridot’s arms.

“...there’s got to be a pack here,” Jasper said quietly, her voice little more than a low rumble. “Only reason there would be so many werewolves.”

“Can you find it?” Peridot asked, still pressed against Jasper’s back. Jasper shrugged and sighed.

“Depends. Maybe. We’re pretty far off from the full moon right now, and they’ve probably been driven underground by these murders. But they might know something.” She took a deep breath and let it out as another sigh, Peridot’s contact keeping her grounded and steady. “It might even be pack politics, though I’ve never known that to get this  _ bloody…” _

“I can check online,” Peridot said quietly. “Maybe there’s some mention of local meetups.”

“There may be postings about camping trips during the full moon,” Jasper growled. “Or survivalist outings. Things like that. But- I-I don’t- want to-”

“Let go yet?”

Jasper nodded.

“We can move to the bed. I’ll check on my phone.”

“Thanks.”


	20. A Pack of Wolves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper has her doubts. And something she hasn't felt properly in a long time: fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! this is a four chapter arc! 8) also i still love u all

Jasper had her head in Peridot’s lap as the hacker worked. Peridot was patting her hair idly as she used the phone’s internet to search for anything like what Jasper had described. Jasper was just trying to regulate her breathing, slow breaths in, slow breaths out, curled up against her partner and trying not to think about the implications of the werewolf murders in the area.

Instead she found herself thinking about how nice it felt to be so close to Peridot, how relaxing, how much it was  _ helping. _ How easily the thought of calling Peridot her  _ partner _ sprang to mind.

A month ago she’d balked at having the obnoxious brat tagging along, but now… she didn’t want it to end. Peridot was immensely helpful, energetic, intelligent,  _ adorable… _

Jasper sighed. She didn’t want to put Peridot in danger, but she didn’t want to go back to her solitary life. It was nice having a partner. It was nice not being alone any more.

And to think, she’d thought she  _ enjoyed _ the solitary life. There was the added stress of making sure Peridot didn’t get hurt, but… Peridot did a pretty good job of taking care of herself, too.

And it certainly helped having a steady stream of income. She honestly didn’t… actually  _ mind _ taking charity cases all that much any more, not when they could pay for things so easily now. It wasn’t like they were living the lavish lifestyle, of course — they still stayed in roadside motels just because people ask fewer questions that way — but not having to worry about where her next meal was coming from… it was nice. It was really nice.

Not to mention how fucking  _ smart _ the hacker was. How quickly and easily she found information. Jasper had the wisdom of experience, but whenever she ran up against something she didn’t know, Peridot had that under control.

“Jasper? Earth to Jasper.”

Jasper grunted and twisted to look up at Peridot with a questioning sound. The hacker was grinning at her.

“Finally! Thought you’d fallen asleep. I found an ad for a group camping trip and bonfire spanning the full moon. Pets allowed and, get this, “dog people encouraged.””

Jasper snorted and started laughing, all huffy and low.

“Love a pack with a sense of humor.”

“There’s a contact number here for a Chris Lewis. Want it?”

Jasper moved a bit to pull her phone out of her pocket, her head still in Peridot’s lap.

“Yeah, go for it.”

Peridot’s hands fell to play in Jasper’s hair a bit as she waited for this Chris Lewis to pick up. It was relaxing, the light tug of movement in her wild mane.

“ _ Hello? _ ” The voice on the other line sounded older, gruff.

“Chris Lewis?” Jasper asked.

“ _ Who’s asking? _ ”

“I’m Jasper. I wanted to talk to you about the upcoming camping trip; I’m passing through the area around that time and was hoping I’d be able to join in. Are all breeds of dog welcome? Mine is big and a little wild, but she could really use the chance to run around some.”

“ _ All dogs are welcome, no matter how big, _ ” the man said, sounding a bit wary still.

“Excellent. Could I meet up with you sometime today to discuss some details?”

“ _ Of course. I’ve got a few free hours. I’ll text you the address. _ ”

“Thanks. See you then,” Jasper said before hanging up and sighing, dropping her phone beside her.

“So…” Peridot let her question trail off.

“Won’t know for sure until we’re face to face, but probably. Get changed into something less official; we’re going to meet him, and we don’t want to spook him. With those murders, he’s probably spooked enough as-is.”

Not long after, they were heading towards the location — a park near the outskirts of the city — in more casual clothes, Peridot in jeans and a Camp Pining Hearts tee and Jasper in cargos and a tank top. Jasper still had her machete strapped to her hip, but Peridot had opted to just keep her flask of mercury on her instead of the sawblades.

On some level, Jasper was wary of unfamiliar wolves. Unfamiliar packs. For all she knew, they were going to meet the one killing werewolves in an isolated location. She wanted to be prepared.

But it had also been a very long time since she’d run with a pack, and there was a certain eagerness in the pit of her belly. She couldn’t deny the need to be with those  _ like her, _ despite her self-induced solitude.

The sun was setting when they pulled up at the park, streetlights already casting an orange glow across the parking lot. They were a bit early as they stepped out of the van and made their way into the park. They lingered around the swingsets for a few moments before Peridot settled into one, leaving a nervous Jasper pacing nearby.

The creak of the chains as Peridot moved only served to put Jasper more on edge. She was almost certain that they were meeting another werewolf, though there was still the chance she’d misunderstood. But why else would the meeting have been in such an isolated location? Did she just lead Peridot into a potentially deadly situation without any real prior research?

She’d forgone the silver bullets as a sign of respect and, on some level, hope that this would be a peaceful, beneficial meeting. But she was still  _ worried _ . She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this apprehensive. Was she in over her head? This thing looked like it could kill werewolves without breaking a goddamn sweat and here she is just waiting out in the open, no cover within running distance and only the bare minimum of weaponry.

Even if the man she was waiting on was safe, that didn’t guarantee that whatever was hunting wolves wouldn’t find them here.

This was a bad idea. A terrible idea. She shouldn’t be doing it. She should have taken one look at the dead werewolf and fucked right the hell off because whatever was doing that could do it to  _ her _ , too-

“Jasper.” Peridot’s voice broke through her cycle of what-ifs and had her looking up. Peridot pointed at the parking lot.

Three men were heading in their direction, two of them flanking the third.

“Chris Lewis?” Jasper asked, putting herself between them and Peridot, stance solid and arms crossed. From here, she could smell that all three of them were werewolves.

“Speaking. I take it you’re Jasper?” The first man asked as he got closer, still staying a few paces away from Jasper and warily looking at the machete on her hip. He was older and grizzled, salt-and-pepper hair and a groomed mustache. Early fifties, maybe.

“Jasper Guerrero.” She held her hand out, giving the man the job of closing the distance between them. He didn’t, just looked at her hand. She frowned a bit at that and dropped her hand back to her side, resting her other on the hilt of her machete.

“Mexican?”

“American. Second generation.”

“And the-” he made a motion towards his face. “Mange?”

Jasper’s eyebrow twitched.

“Vitiligo. It’s not contagious.”

“Hate for you to infect the pack with something.”

“Like I said. It’s not contagious.”

Jasper was beginning to doubt her decision to meet this guy. She glanced up at the two men flanking Chris. They were big, but she was bigger. One at a time, she could take them. Both at the same time…

“Brick. Digger. Two of my Betas.” Chris indicated the men behind him. “I’m Lawton pack’s Alpha.”

Peridot came up behind Jasper, poking her head around the wall of werewolf.

“Hey! I thought-” she started. Jasper moved her hand back a bit to grab at Peridot’s thigh and squeeze. She must have gotten the message, because she fell silent.

Chris raised an eyebrow and looked down his nose at Peridot.

“Human?”

“Human yes. Mundane no. She’s my partner.”

“Partner.” Chris sniffed disdainfully. “Well, what are you and your…  _ partner _ doing in my territory?”

“Just passing through. We travel a lot, and we’ll be back here around the full moon. Been a while since I’ve run with a pack, but I thought since I’d be in your city, I’d give you a heads-up.”

“This isn’t the safest place to be a werewolf right now,” Chris growled. Jasper glanced up at Brick and Digger at that, then returned her gaze to Chris.

“So I’ve found out. But that doesn’t change my plans. Need somewhere to be on the full moon, and I don’t want to run into your pack without a heads-up. Might as well start out together.”

Chris crossed his arms and let out a long sigh through his nose.

“True. Might as well save us all the trouble. Sure. Got a potluck at my place tomorrow afternoon around three. Come on over and meet the pack so they’ve got your scent. I’ll text you the address.”

Jasper nodded.

“I’ll bring something. See you then.”

The other werewolf turned around and waved in the air a bit.

“Sure.”

Jasper watched as the three werewolves walked away, and once they were out of earshot she snorted and spat a string of Spanish at him under her breath.

“Jasper!” Peridot squeaked. “What did you just-”

“A racist son of a bitch, among other things. Thought he deserved it in Spanish.”

Peridot just snorted.

“God, yeah, he was a jerk. Hope the rest of the pack isn’t that bad.”

“Mh,” Jasper made a soft sound, thoughtful. “I’m not… sure if it would be safe for you to go with me tomorrow. A whole pack, and if they’re all so  _ welcoming _ to non-wolves…”

“Jasper.” Peridot circled around in front of her and rested her hands on either side of Jasper’s face. “You are not going into a den of potential killers without me.”

“Are you saying that because they’re werewolves?” Jasper asked, her cheeks a bit squished together. She wasn’t upset, but the implications there made her a bit uneasy.

“No, I’m saying that because there are werewolves dying around here, and one that’s constantly moving around with no real connections to anywhere would be a great, untraceable victim. You’re not going into a potential deathtrap without me. I’ve got your back. I can touch silver, and you can’t, remember?”

Jasper sighed as she looked down at Peridot, who was squishing her cheeks properly now.

“You done?”

“Am I coming to the party with you?”

Jasper paused. Sighed. Peridot did have a point, and Peridot was getting so much better in a fight… even if they couldn’t take on a whole pack, they could probably fight their way out of it. Maybe.

“...yeah. But know that it’s dangerous.”

“My middle name is Dangerous.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“Yes it is. You don’t know my middle name. It could be Dangerous.”

“Peridot I swear to God.”

“You’re very intimidating with your face all squished up like this.”

Jasper snorted and pulled out of Peridot’s reach, giving her a dumb, triumphant grin.

“Brat.”

“Ass.”

Jasper rested her hand heavily on Peridot’s head as she started heading back to the van.

“C’mon, Dangerous, we’ve gotta find something we can take to a party. Not like we can cook at the motel.”

“Can’t that wait until tomorrow? I wanna watch the new episode of Camp Pining Hearts tonight!”

“You can wait like an hour. You’ll live.”

“ _ Jasperrrrr…. _ ”

“Don’t give me that look,” Jasper said. Peridot, instead, made her expression even more pathetic. Jasper sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked. “That’s not going to work.”

“If I’ve got to wait, you’re going to tell me why you  _ lied _ about Alphas and Betas-”

“I didn’t lie,” Jasper said as she climbed into the van and got it started. “Wolves don’t have conventional pack dynamics. But sometimes packs do form that use them.”

“And you didn’t tell me this because…”

“Because I didn’t feel like explaining all the different ways the dynamics were used. For example, some packs have an Alpha male who treats Betas as his personal harem; others have Omegas that are free-use partners for anyone in the pack.”

“Oh, ew,” Peridot said as she buckled up. “Against their will?”

“Depends. Some wolves think being part wild animal means they get to do whatever they want and claim “nature’s way.” That isn’t even how it works in the wild.” Jasper sighed as she started the van. “This guy looks like he’s using his as a personal guard, though.”

“Huh,” Peridot said thoughtfully. “Why would a werewolf need a personal guard?”

“Beats me,” Jasper said with a shrug. “Maybe infighting. Maybe he’s just an asshole.”

“I would not be surprised at the second one, after what he asked you.”

“Mange,” Jasper spat. “Mange and racism. Honestly, I wish whatever was targeting werewolves would go after his bigoted ass.”

“Amen,” Peridot muttered.


	21. A Pack of Chips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A potluck is enlightening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woop woop with this post, I have officially "won" NaNoWriMo by writing over 50k words in 30 days, though not in the proper month. very proud of myself!
> 
> also, i've finally decided that there might be smut in the body of this work. there will be at least one separate story but they might fuck in here too so //shrug emoji
> 
> not in this chapter tho this is clean

Jasper brought chips. She’d never been the type for potlucks, or parties in general, and it wasn’t like they could cook in their hotel room. So she knocked on the door of the ridiculously suburban home with a pack of Lays held in one large hand.

They both came prepared for a fight. Less so for an actual party. Jasper’s machete was hanging on her hip, with her beretta and the clip of silver bullets tucked into the back of her pants, hidden by her leather jacket. She preferred having it in a holster, but she also figured that maybe, just maybe, she’d already be unsettling enough with the machete on display.

Peridot’s flask was on her hip, too, with one of the silver blades sheathed horizontally on the back of her belt as well. It was the smallest, hidden by the way her shirt hung loosely over her form.

They were going into a den of wolves and they were ready to fight their way out if need be.

But aside from weapons, all they had was chips and trepidation. Jasper could tell without asking that Peridot was just as nervous as she was. For all they knew, it was the whole pack shredding other werewolves, and they were walking right into a trap and bringing a snack along with them.

There were cars and trucks and SUVs parked along the entire road, warning of a much larger group than Jasper had originally suspected. She counted at least a dozen, and that thought was… not reassuring.

But the woman who answered the door was genial, if a bit older and tired-looking.

“You must be the one passing through! And this… your… partner, correct?” The woman stumbled over the word, giving Jasper a little unsteady grin.

“We work together,” Jasper said, indicating Peridot with her head. “Travel a lot. I’m Jasper, this is Peridot.”

She didn’t like using their real names, but they needed the pack to trust them if they were going to get any information on the murders…

And she wanted so badly to grab Peridot by the hand, ground the both of them, remind her that they were going to be fine. But if Chris and this woman’s reactions were anything to go by, even the slightest hint that they might be _together_ could lead to trouble.

They probably wouldn’t understand that it was putti magic, that they weren’t- actually- _together-_

That thought made her wrinkle her nose and frown, briefly, but the expression disappeared into a half-smile as they were invited inside. The hostess indicated that most of the party was out in the back yard and guided them through a screen door, where Jasper took a quick count of no less than twenty people, all of them werewolves.

One of the biggest packs she’d seen outside of larger cities.

Even out in the yard, the air was a bit… tense. There were two distinct groups mingling in separate parts of the yard. The smaller of the groups had Chris, and Brick, and Digger, and a collection of mostly older, mostly male werewolves; they were focused around the grill

The larger group was younger, more females, more diverse, hovering mostly around the food tables. Jasper took a step towards that group, at first, before deciding that maybe greeting the man who’d invited her would be more polite.

“Jasper!” Chris called as she approached. Jasper raised her hand in greeting, but didn’t go for a handshake again. Chris slowed a bit and frowned at Peridot. “I didn’t think you’d bring your- _partner-_ ” He almost spat the word.

“She gets antsy when I leave her alone. Tears up the toilet paper, pisses in my shoes.”

She could feel Peridot’s indignation without having to look over. Chris, however, let out a laugh and shook his head.

“It’s a pity you’re…” He coughed. “Not sticking around. A build like that, you’d make a hell of a Beta. But uh…” He indicated her machete. “That really necessary?”

“Last I checked, werewolves were dropping like flies in this city. I don’t intend on being one of them.”

Chris’s expression darkened considerably.

“So you heard about that,” he said quietly. “How did you know they were werewolves?”

“Stumbled across one of the crime scenes the other day, then did some digging. That’s why I went looking for a pack for the full moon. Like I said… I don’t intend on dying in some backwater Ohio city.”

“Fair enough,” Chris said with a raised eyebrow. Then he indicated the larger group mingling around the food. “Go ahead, get to know the pack, then.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow at that, but then nodded absently and turned, grabbing Peridot’s arm to tug her along, grateful that she’d at least remained quiet while Jasper was talking to Chris. That silence didn’t last long, though.

“ _Piss in your shoes?_ ” Peridot hissed. “ _Really?_ ”

“When in Rome,” Jasper said gruffly, but her glare softened and she sighed, even loosening her grip on Peridot’s arm a bit. “When you’re around other wolves, you have to listen to more than words. Read the air. Human do it on some level, but a wolf needs to be alert at all times. I approached him Alpha to Alpha this time, and he still treated me little better than gum on his heel. Sent me to go talk to the lower ranks in the pack.”

“But he said you’d make a good Beta,” Peridot said, wrinkling her nose.

“Backhanded compliment. He doesn’t like that I’m a woman, that I’m Latina, that I’m gay, that I’m “diseased,” I don’t know which it is, but all he was doing was dangling that over my head as something I can’t have because I’m not even good enough to be less than him. Insulting as fuck, especially when I approached him as equals. I fucking hate pack dynamics, Jesus Christ.”

Peridot stopped abruptly, and Jasper’s grip slipped from her arm.

“You got all that from like a minute of talking to him?”

“I hate pack dynamics and I hate them more when they’re dictated by someone like his bigoted ass,” Jasper growled.

“I see you’ve been judged and found wanting,” a female voice said from off to the side. Jasper looked up to see a dark-skinned girl in her twenties with a Camp Pining Hearts tee walking towards them. Peridot practically shrieked as she realized she’d found a kindred spirit, and the girl flashed a grin at Peridot and offered the both of them cans of soda. “I’m the Omega, Kat. Please don’t laugh.”

“A werewolf named Kat?” Jasper said with a little chuckle, taking one of the cans. “Jasper.”

“I’m Peridot! What’s your favorite ship?” Peridot chirped, grabbing the other soda with both hands eagerly.

“Percierre?” Kat said almost warily. Peridot’s face lit up.

“Same! God, I haven’t met a Camper in meatspace in ages! Have you been keeping up?”

Jasper fell silent as Peridot gabbed on with the young woman, and she found herself starting to grin, enjoying seeing Peridot so eagerly conversing with _anyone_ outside of work. The knot of anxiety between her shoulderblades started to relax a bit, and she looked on at the other werewolves in the yard. She was almost certain that Peridot was the only non-wolf here, if her earlier assessment was correct.

The differences between the two groups of werewolves was obvious even just watching from a distance. The smaller group, older and mostly male, chatted on in polo shirts and slacks, talking like they were at a country club. The larger group was colorful in skin and clothing, the groups of talking werewolves animated and touchy and grinning on, full of youthful vigor.

Jasper sipped from her soda as she watched the activity around them. She was beginning to understand the power divide in this pack a bit better. A bigoted Alpha, strongarming the pack structure to meet his narrow worldview. Unsurprising. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen this, either. Though if her reading of the crowd was correct… his grip on the pack was tenuous. A younger generation of wolves slowly gaining more power.

God, she hated all the politics that came with packs. A pack should be a family, not a pecking order.

“So I’m gonna assume you hunters are here because of the murders, right?”

Jasper started and nearly dropped her soda, Kat’s voice breaking through her own thoughts.

“We’re not-”

“Please, Jasper,” Kat laughed. “You’re wearing a Vorpal blade and you’re both hiding silver. I’m young, not stupid.” She indicated the larger group of people. “A few of us put up the bounty on whatever’s killing us. Surprised a werewolf came, though. Guess we got lucky.”

“You put up the bounty?” Jasper asked.

“Yeah, I’m the one who does the advertising for the pack, too. And party planning. And anything else Chris foists off on me. Asshole makes me do his taxes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he made me do his wife and let him watch.” Kat’s chipper tone had turned bitter over the course of her admission. Peridot made a soft little angry sound and glared over at Chris. Jasper had to grab her arm to keep her from storming over there and giving the Alpha a telling-off.

“So all is not well in the Lawton pack, huh?” Jasper asked. Kat shrugged.

“Wouldn’t know. This is my first pack.”

“Well-” Peridot started, tugging her arm from Jasper’s grasp and then taking her hand instead. Jasper glanced down at their clasped hands and smiled a bit. “Do you like it here? Is Chris a good Alpha otherwise?”

“Not really,” Kat sighed, then glanced between them to where they were holding hands and smiled ruefully. “He doesn’t let anyone but wolves come to gatherings. He says he wants to keep the pack “clean” of “lesser beings.” Which is bullshit. I tried to bring my girlfriend to Christmas last year and I thought he’d have an aneurysm.”

“Not accepting of anyone not straight, white, male, and wolf, I take it?” Jasper asked with a sigh. It was the same vibe she’d gotten from him before. Not that it was easy to miss. Kat nodded. “I know the type. What a fuckhead.”

“We’d love to rework the power structure, but Brick and Digger are both ex-military. Green Berets, I think. Can’t unseat Chris without going through Brick and Digger, and we don’t have anyone who could go toe-to-toe with those meatbrains. No offense,” Kat nodded at Jasper.

Jasper shrugged.

“None taken. Naive of you to be telling so much to a pair of hunters, though,” Jasper said, voice low and growly but not threatening. Kat shrugged.

“Not like you can do anything. Chris is a bigoted asshole, but he’s got the manpower to back up his beliefs. So those of us he considers “lesser,” well…” she made a little motion towards the larger group with her hand. “Chris doesn’t even consider us worth the hassle of finding our killers. It’s been low-ranking wolves who’ve died, nobody he’d consider important. So some of us took up a collection to offer the bounty. Most of us work dead-end jobs, some two or three, so we’re lucky we even got enough together to offer the $300 reward, and even then… for something that can kill wolves…”

“We have an alternate revenue stream,” Peridot said with a grin. “If we stop what’s killing you, you can keep the bounty. You all need it.”

Jasper groaned. Of course. Hunting down something powerful enough to take out a werewolf for free. Not that they needed the money, but this job was more dangerous than their normal fare…

She sighed. Whatever. Help the downtrodden. It seemed like this pack needed a little extra help anyway.

Kat crossed her arms and sighed.

“And he keeps talking about this Red Fangs group, offering all of us, even the lowest like me, entrance into this… secret club or something. He says even the least of wolves are greater than the best of humans. That one day we won’t have to hide in the shadows.” Kat shuddered. “Sounds creepy to me. We’re just... different, you know? Not better. Just a little different. It’s not like being a wolf three days a month makes us more enlightened or something. I mean, God, I’ve sniffed butts and eaten roadkill, I’m not some kind of paragon of virtue. I’m in IT for fuck’s sake.”

Jasper listened attentively while Kat spoke, rubbing Peridot’s arm with her knuckles idly. The other werewolf seemed to have gotten herself worked up, panting a bit, but as she finished up, she took in a long, deep breath and let it out slowly.

“I’m okay. I’m okay. Sorry, I’ve just been dealing with this for over a year now and I’m sick of being at his beck and call. It’s bullshit. A pack should be a family, protect each other, help each other out. Not…” She indicated the split groups. “This. It’s like Chris and his cronies only deal with the rest of us because they want someone to blame when things go wrong.”

“But…” Peridot started. “There are more of you? Can’t you just… take over?”

“Not with Brick and Digger around. They’re like his lapdogs. Do anything he says.”

“Ugh,” Peridot shuddered. “Wish whatever was killing werewolves went after him.”

“Glad to hear even a human understands what a vile piece of garbage Chris is. Wouldn’t wish death on him, but I’d love someone to take him down a peg or three.”

Jasper sighed. She could see Kat’s gaze flick over to her, briefly.

“We’re hunters, Kat,” Jasper said gruffly. “We won’t be in town long enough to fix your pack.”

“We can fix our pack ourselves,” Kat said. “We just need the chance. That’s all. But first-” she indicated the group of younger, lower-ranking wolves with a gesture, “We need to find whatever’s killing us and _stop it._ I’ll help however I can.”

Jasper nodded thoughtfully. Though, after a moment she seemed to jump just a bit, remembering another question.

“How’d you know this was a Vorpal blade?” she asked, resting her hand on her machete.

Kat grinned.

“I’ve always been able to see magic. Wolves have an aura, silver has an aura, blessed and runed weapons have an aura. We had a hunter come through a few months ago with one. The aura shimmers differently than anything else I’ve seen.”

“Huh,” Jasper said thoughtfully.

“That’s _so cool!_ ” Peridot gushed. Jasper ended up laughing softly at that. Seeing Peridot impressed was rather cute.

“Katherine!” came Chris’s voice. The werewolf flinched and closed her eyes. “Need to speak with you! Get over here!”

Kat sighed and leaned her head towards Chris.

“Duty calls. You two enjoy the food.”

Jasper nodded, frowning a bit, and she could see Peridot frowning as well as Kat practically slinked her way over to Chris. Jasper could see the submission in her posture, like she was crawling over to him on her belly. She halfway expected her to turn over and show her throat and belly once she made it over there, but she grabbed Peridot by the upper arm and tugged her towards the table some, wanting to give Kat at least a little bit of privacy.

They were both picking at food around the table, looking around, mingling a bit. Peridot was doing better at the small talk than Jasper, who was mostly hanging around the crockpot full of meatballs and nodding solemnly at anyone else who seemed interested in them.

There was the sound of raised voices, a commotion, and Jasper went immediately into fight mode at the sound of yelling, Kat’s raised voice carrying easily as she cursed out Chris and then slapped him full across the face.

Kat took off into the house as Chris rubbed his cheek, making eye contact with his two cronies and jerking his head in the direction of the door.

Brick and Digger followed Kat in an instant, and Jasper was right behind them, hoping that Peridot noticed and would catch up. Their intentions couldn’t be _good._


	22. A Pack of Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper meets her match, and is reminded that she's not alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey so guess what they do this chapter
> 
> also sorry these are slowing down, i'm getting less time to write at work and that's where most of the chapters get done

Brick- or Digger, she wasn’t sure which was which- already had Kat by the wrists when Jasper made it into the living room. Kat was shrieking and cursing and yanking away as best she could while the man not holding her arms grabbed her by the legs and hoisted her into the air easily.

Kat shrieked louder, cursing and kicking and thrashing, her tiny form dwarfed by the hulking werewolves. Fur was beginning to show on her arms and her face was already warping into a muzzle, her own wolf fighting desperately to get free, save itself.

Jasper hit the one holding her legs like a juggernaut, roaring as she drew back and landed a hefty punch to his head. He dropped Kat’s legs and stumbled backwards, growling, and Jasper watched as fur spread across his skin, face warping and fangs growing longer.

Jasper was ready to fight a wolf, but the hulking werewolf in front of her never completed the transformation; he kept his human form, growing fur and claws and fangs, a wolfman instead of a wolf.

For a moment, she paused, taken aback by just how much  _ discipline  _ it must take to hold a half shift. She barely managed to recognize his attack, stumbling backwards as sharp claws slashed four deep cuts across her face.

A fraction of a second later and it would have crushed bone, no doubt.

She blinked away blood, shaking her head, and drew her machete, growling, fighting down the wolf inside her as she realized that she was very likely outmatched.

A slash bit into the meat of the other wolf’s arm, though she’d been aiming for his gut. She comforted herself with the thought that she felt it hit bone, but if his reflexes were that good–

She threw herself to the side as the wolfman leaped at her, but she still felt teeth rip into her left arm, near the shoulder. She got out of the way quickly enough that it was just a tear in her jacket and deep gouge through the meat of her arm instead of what she was certain was an attempt at crushing her windpipe.

Her machete came across as she twisted, burying in the werewolf’s spine and eliciting a painted bark from the hulking wolfman. For a brief moment, she hoped that it had gone deep enough to sever his spinal cord, but he twisted and knocked her machete from her hand, sending it flying across the coffee table. She stumbled backwards and ended up falling heavily into a chair with a bark of pain. She could feel the ache in her teeth and the itching in the back of her skull that warned her of her wolf’s fear. Her fingers twitched, and she was out of the chair and leaping towards the wolfman in an instant, but was knocked bodily off course and into the wall before she connected.

She let out a yelp and fell, and she only had a moment’s warning to shake blood out of her eyes before the second wolfman’s claws arced towards her.

There was a snarl and the arm stopped in midair, a lanky black wolf mauling the furred forearm. The wolfman grunted and swept his arm off to the side, sending the little wolf tumbling off and into the couch with a pained yelp.

Jasper pushed off the wall and hurtled forwards, heatbutting the wolfman directly in the forehead with a growl, but at the contact her senses jangled up and she was dizzy and dazed just long enough for one of them to slash across her side, opening a gash in her jacket and side that bloomed red across her shirt.

She cursed. These had to be who was killing those werewolves. Neither of them seemed even the slightest bit fatigued, or even really injured, and she was far more capable in a fight than an average wolf-

Claws came at her belly, this time, and she had enough warning to roll out of the way, behind the loveseat, hissing in pain. She used the cover to reach behind her for her beretta, only to find it missing. It must have gotten knocked out somewhere-

She cursed again. All she had was her body, and her wolf was fighting to escape. She couldn’t tell if the red mist was the wolf or the blood from her forehead, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to fight for much longer-

One of the wolfmen– this one was the injured one, though it didn’t seem to even slow him down– leaped over the loveseat to growl at her, pinning her against the back of the chair and leaving no real escape. He was grinning as he reared back to attack, only to have his attention drawn off to the side.

“Hey! Fuckhead!”

Jasper looked over at the source of the sound and saw Peridot send her silver blade flying through the air to cut the wolfman’s throat in a shower of gore. He fell to the floor and twitched.

Jasper took in a painful breath and nodded at Peridot.

“Thanks,” she huffed, standing carefully.

“Thank me once they’re both dead,” Peridot grunted. The silver blade spun back towards her, and then they were both standing and glaring at the remaining wolfman, who was drawing back to slash at the crumpled wolf on the floor.

Jasper whistled, the sound shrill, and both the wolfman and the wolf on the floor flinched. The wolfman turned with a snarl, and the silver blade flew across the room to bury in his forehead. His eyes rolled back into his head and he crumpled next to the black wolf, unmoving.

“ _ Now _ you can thank me,” Peridot said, flashing Jasper a smug grin. Jasper laughed, a breathy sound that made her wince a bit as the motion tugged on her open wounds.

“Thanks. Now-”

The crumpled wolf, Kat, glared at them, snarling a squeaky, frightened snarl, teeth bared and ears laid back. Jasper grabbed Peridot’s shirt, leaving a smudge of red on the fabric, to keep her from taking more than a step in her direction.

“Hold on. I’ll calm her down.”

The transformation this time was almost like loosening a belt after a big meal, a release of tension from her body as she effortlessly warped and slid to the ground with the sound of bones moving and changing. The hulking red wolf, still mostly Jasper, padded up to the much-smaller black wolf on the floor, body low.

The room stank of blood, and moving hurt, but she crawled her way over to the smaller wolf, licking the air some, her tail wagging low.

Once she reached the other wolf, she ran a lick over it’s nose and pricked her ears forward, pushing herself up a bit to lift her butt in the air. Play? She shifted from one paw to the other a bit. Play!

The smaller wolf yipped and licked at Jasper’s snout, aggression fading from her posture and tail beginning to wag a bit. Instead of trying to pressure her into playing again, Jasper edged forward and sniffed her muzzle, licking calmingly and nudging the smaller wolf with her nose.

It was only a minute or two of nudges and nuzzles before the black wolf was relaxed enough to shift back into Kat, who leaned heavily against the chair with a sigh.

Jasper straightened up and shook herself with a little wince of pain, blood scattering a bit from her open wounds. She licked Kat on the cheek before picking her way over to Peridot, who stepped back a bit at the sight of the huge wolf.

Her face broke into a wolfish grin as she let her tongue loll out, panting all relaxed before licking Peridot’s cheek. Peridot laughed and lifted a hand to ruffle Jasper’s fur, play with her ears a bit. Jasper’s eyes squeezed shut at the attention and she let out a soft boof.

She shifted back after a moment or two, still panting a bit at just how much the gash on her side  _ hurt _ , and had to close one eye as the blood from her forehead dripped down over her brow.

“You think I’ll get a dashing scar from this?” she asked with a dumb grin on her face.

“Maybe if you pick at it while it’s healing,” Peridot said, returning Jasper’s grin.

Jasper turned to Kat, offering her a hand. Kat took it with a wince, but stood after a moment or two of struggling.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Probably better than you,” Kat said with a pained groan. “Think I broke a rib, though.”

“Need an ambulance?” Peridot asked. Kat looked at Jasper, eyes flicking from wound to wound.

“No, Kat, she means you. I’ll be fine.”

“But-”

“Jasper takes getting injured very lightly,” Peridot said. “Thinks she’s invincible.”

Jasper looked away a bit, blushing, and raised a hand to rub the back of her neck, only to wince a bit at the pull from her side.

“Think we found what was shredding werewolves, at least,” Jasper grunted. She was trying very hard not to focus on the pain, though it was very much There and Very Painful.

“And under Chris’s instruction, no less,” Kat murmured. She shoved her way past Jasper and headed back towards the door outside. “That  _ asshole! _ ”

Jasper and Peridot were left behind for a moment or two, blinking as the angry little Omega took off into the yard, spouting vitriol at Chris before she was even out the door. They looked at each other.

“We should probably make sure she doesn’t get hurt any more,” Peridot said.

“You just want to see her slug Chris,” Jasper grunted.

“Well,  _ someone _ has to. If not her, I’ll do it!”

Jasper gestured towards the door with a little “After you,” and a brief, painful bow.

It took another hour to get back to the motel room, Jasper still bleeding sluggishly as they stumbled in. Kat had spread the word of what Chris had done and the Lawton pack was successfully shaken up. Kat was appointed interim Alpha while the younger, more numerous portion of the pack got to work restructuring their whole social order.

Jasper had ended up having to stand menacingly behind Kat for a little while so that the potluck didn’t break out into a knock-down, drag-out fight, but she was confident about the restructuring. She gave Kat her number with instructions to call if Chris “tried that shit again.”

She was dizzy by the time she settled heavily onto the end of the bed; Peridot had driven them back to the motel, even. She was panting lightly and having trouble focusing her eyes, still streaming blood from the gash on her side.

Peridot tossed the first aid kit onto the bed beside Jasper before heading into the bathroom, probably to find a washcloth to ruin.

“Hey, Jasp, get your shirt off while I’m getting this,” She called back. “You can do that, right? Don’t need me to cut you out of it?”

“‘M good,” Jasper growled, working her way slowly out of her jacket and shirt, hissing and wincing as the motion pulled the healing wounds enough that she started to bleed a bit more. The mangled clothing fell into a pile on the floor, leaving Jasper in a white sports bra, stained red in a few places. She was breathing heavier as she finished the motions and settled back down, her mind clearing slowly as she got a chance to sit and rest and pull back into herself some.

Peridot returned from the bathroom with a stack of steaming white washcloths and Jasper flashed her a tired grin. She looked a sight, blood drying on her face, her arm and side torn into like that. Peridot returned the grin.

“You look like Hell,” Peridot said as she set all but one of the washcloths aside, standing back in front of Jasper.

“I feel fine,” Jasper said, still grinning, still a bit loopy.

“Jasper Guerrero, you are a liar.” Peridot was smiling as she chided, starting to wash the blood off the gashes on Jasper’s face. Jasper hissed softly, closing her eyes and focusing on the heat of the washcloth against her face, something that felt better than the ache in her side and shoulder.

When Peridot pulled the washcloth away, Jasper opened her eyes, blinking and looking at Peridot. A flush spread across her face and, damn her, she was moving before the impulse had even registered.

She kissed Peridot. She raised her still-bloodied hands and cupped Peridot’s cheeks and pulled her in for a kiss full on the lips.

And then she realized what she’d done and pulled away, panting, babbling apologies.

Peridot was silent, maybe even stunned.

Jasper murmured something about putti magic, and Peridot snorted, leaned in to press a kiss to Jasper’s nose, just below the gash that crossed the bridge of it.

“Jasper, you know as well as I do that that’s bullshit.”

Jasper mumbled something about blood loss and looked away, whole face flushed, the rush of blood to her head dizzying. Peridot sighed and pulled Jasper into another kiss, a proper one, and Jasper tensed up, pulled away.

Peridot stepped back, looking confused and hurt, and Jasper started babbling.

“I-I- shit, Peri, I- we- do you really want- I’m not- really- you- really don’t- want--”

Peridot’s expression went from confusion to understanding, and then a sort of teasing half-frown.

“Jasper, you are a reckless, grouchy, selfish pain in my ass, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Now would you shut the fuck up so I can sew you up. We’ll pick up where we left off after you stop bleeding on everything.”

Jasper blinked in surprise and just. Shut up as requested.

Peridot washed the blood off of Jasper with careful motions, cleaning inside her open wounds as well and staining the washcloths bright red. The both of them were quiet for a little while, until the needle first prickled into Jasper’s shoulder. She hissed in softly before letting out a long, slow breath through her nose.

There was silence between them for a few more seconds as Peridot started sewing up Jasper’s shoulder. Jasper finally spoke, though, a low, thoughtful murmur.

“How long have you known?”

Peridot looked up with a  _ mn? _

“The putti magic?” she asked. Jasper nodded. “A couple hours after we stopped them. But… the touch was nice. And I’ve read enough fanfic to tell that you were enjoying it as much as I was, so I played along.”

Jasper let out a rueful little huff of laughter, hissing again at a new stitch.

“I didn’t want to admit it,” she growled through clenched teeth, not angry, just dealing with the pain of her injuries and being sewn up.

“Denial’s not just a river in Egypt,” Peridot laughed. Jasper nodded.

Peridot was silent for a while, still sewing Jasper up carefully. Jasper broke the silence with a question.

“How’d you learn how to sew?”

“Made a couple cosplays from scratch,” she murmured, concentrating. “Never used it on skin until you, but ‘m glad it translates well enough. Do you want me to glue the face ones shut or are you digging the anime look?”

“I think it’s dashing,” Jasper joked.

“I think it’s hot as hell, to be honest.”

Jasper blushed and let out a nervous laugh.

“So you actually…”

“Yes, Jasper, I actually like you. You’re also hot as fuck. I didn’t take you for the insecure type.”

Peridot seemed to gain courage whenever she was working on Jasper’s wounds like this. It was kind of cute.

Jasper shrugged and hissed as it pulled at her stitches.

“Hey! Working here!” Peridot laughed. Jasper just growled at her, not really angry. Peridot must have realized it wasn’t a real threat, because she patted Jasper’s head roughly. “Down, girl.”

“Peridot I swear to God-”

“No dog jokes?”

“No fucking dog jokes.”

“You let me pet you earlier, though. That was nice. Big ol’ doggo. I saw your tail wag, too; you can’t get anything by me.” There was laughter in Peridot’s voice. Jasper gave another little growl, turning a bit to glare at Peridot, but only held the expression for a few seconds before snorting and laughing a bit herself.

“Clearly, putti magic extends to my wolf form.”

Peridot tied off the fishing line on Jasper’s shoulder and slid off the bed, wiping blood from her fingers on one of the already-dirtied washcloths. She walked over to the bathroom again to grab a towel and set it on the bed, pointing to it.

“Lie down with the stitches on top of that. I’ve got to get the other one and it’ll be easier if you’re on the bed.”

Jasper obeyed with a breathy groan and a little amused smile. Bossy brat.

She moved her arm out of the way as Peridot climbed back onto the bed and started to stitch up the wound on her side, trying to keep her breathing steady and predictable so Peridot wouldn’t have to accommodate too much movement. She let out a little hiss at the first prick.

“This is where you call me a big baby,” Jasper said, trying not to laugh. Peridot, however, didn’t need to suppress a laugh.

“Are you kidding? I’ve seen the kind of abuse you can take without batting an eyelash. You’re allowed to show pain, jeez. But when I write this part into my fic you can bet I’m using that trope.”

“...Peridot.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you writing about us.”

“Uh, kinda.”

“ _ Peridot. _ ”

“It’s fanfic! I just thought this was the perfect chance to write a great Percierre AU-”

“ _ How long have you been writing this. _ ”

“Uh.” Peridot was quiet for a few long seconds as she continued sewing Jasper up. “Uhm, pretty much the beginning.”

“And how long have you been “shipping” us?”

“You’re really hot okay.”

“Peridot.”

“Pretty much the beginning.”

Jasper groaned.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’ve gotten like a thousand hits already.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah. Shocked the hell out of me, too.”

Jasper fell silent, and Peridot didn’t seem to want to add anything else, so for a while it was just Jasper hissing occasionally at the needle going through her skin.

Peridot tied off the fishing line and tossed the needle and surgical shears towards the first aid kit on the corner of the bed, and then she was patting Jasper’s hip and sliding back off the bed.

“You can sit up now. You’re all stitched up.”

Jasper sat up with a groan, sighing once the tugging on her wounds stopped. She was about to rumble her thanks when Peridot straddled her hips and pulled her into a kiss.

She leaned back, blinking and blushing.

“You weren’t kidding about picking up where we left off?”

“Jasper.”

“Just checking.”

Peridot closed in for another kiss, but Jasper pulled away again.

“Like, just to be sure, you want to-”

“Oh for fuck’s sake Jasper  _ yes _ I  _ want _ to  _ fuck you _ , you insecure  _ clod! _ ”

Jasper was dumbly silent for a few moments, blinking and processing Peridot’s outburst, before she leaned forward and pulled Peridot into a kiss. Thick fingers buried in Peridot’s pale blonde hair, palms against her cheek and neck, and Jasper made a soft pleased sound through her nose as Peridot’s fingers tangled in her hair as well, tugging and scratching at her scalp.

They parted, panting, eyes darting over the features of each others’ faces, and their next kiss was hungrier, broken up by gasps, tongues working in tandem. Peridot pulled back breathlessly, flushed and panting, and took Jasper’s cheeks in her hands for another kiss- but Jasper pulled back.

“Pants off,” she grunted. “Can’t move well enough to do it myself right now.”

Peridot nodded and slid off Jasper’s lap, kicking her shoes off and rolling her hips to work her pants off of them.

Jasper leaned back a bit and gave an appreciative growl. Peridot was wearing striped green panties, put on display bit by bit as Peridot worked her pants down and stepped out of them. Peridot took a step towards Jasper after that, but was stymied by the werewolf’s hand, a toothy grin on Jasper’s face.

“Panties too. I’m too injured to do this myself.”

“You are an  _ ass _ ,” Peridot laughed, but she hooked her thumbs in the sides of her panties and let them fall as well, exposing the short, darker hairs between her legs.

Jasper looked appreciatively at the sight in front of her, Peridot bare from the hips down and blushing, trying to pull her shirt down in the front after realizing Jasper was looking at her.

“Oh,  _ now _ you’re insecure,” Jasper laughed.

“It’s- it’s been a while,” Peridot mumbled.

“Can’t have been longer than mine. Do you want to take your shirt off?”

Peridot paused before shaking her head.

“You’re still cute with it on,” Jasper added, beckoning Peridot back over to her and patting her thigh. “C’mon, have a seat. What d’you like best, clit or inside?”

“Uh-” Peridot started, still hovering back for a moment before she turned and sat nervously in Jasper’s lap. “I- I usually like clitoral best- but either is good- b-both is a bit much, though-” She was babbling. Cute. Jasper’s face broke into a little grin as she tugged Peridot’s legs open a bit more, pressed her lips to the curve of her neck as she rubbed sedately at Peridot’s inner thigh with one hand while the other held her steady on her hip.

“Clit it is, then,” she rumbled softly, voice all gruff and husky against Peridot’s skin. She felt the smaller woman shudder against her and breathed out a sigh against heated skin. “Hickeys?”

“Oh God, yes,” Peridot breathed. Jasper grinned for just a moment before she returned her attention to Peridot’s neck, sucking and working her tongue against the skin. She traced her name on Peridot’s inner thighs, slow deliberate movements until Peridot was gasping and whimpering against her.

She speckled Peridot’s neck with kisses before going back to sucking at the heated skin, moving her fingers to rub teasingly at Peridot’s slit, only barely dipping in to feel the heat of Peridot’s body. The smaller woman squirmed, whining and panting, and Jasper grinned against her neck as she finally slipped her fingers between Peridot’s heated lips and nudged her clit with little gentle motions.

Peridot whined and leaned back into Jasper even more, grabbing the werewolf’s wrist with one hand like she was trying to control it and burying her fingers in Jasper’s hair with the other, rocking her hips and bracing her feet against the bed.

She looked and tasted and felt and smelled amazing, the heady scent of Peridot’s arousal obvious to Jasper’s wolf senses. Her fingers moved slickly against Peridot’s clit, slipping down some every few breaths to tease at her entrance as well, returning her attentions to her clit as Peridot shuddered and whined.

Jasper sucked another bruise into Peridot’s neck, careful to keep her teeth separate, not wanting to accidentally turn the smaller woman. She felt Peridot yank her hair some as she arched and whined and panted, hips rocking faster against Jasper’s fingers.

Peridot came with a reedy mewl, arching her back and yanking Jasper’s hair, drawing a soft almost-moan from the werewolf. Jasper kept up her motions, but slower, easing Peridot down until the smaller woman was just leaning against her and panting.

“Another?” Jasper rumbled softly. Peridot shook her head weakly.

“N-no,” she panted. “Too soon.”

Jasper pressed a kiss to her jaw.

“Got it. Need some rest?”

“N-not before I- um-” Peridot stammered, cleared her throat, took a few breaths. “N-not before I-I eat you o-out-!”

Jasper turned red at that, flushing deep and feeling her heart beat in her clit for a moment or two. Okay then.

Peridot slid off her lap and stood shakily. Jasper wiped her fingers on the nearest towel and, for a moment, enjoyed the view of Peridot’s butt with a lopsided grin on her face.

When Peridot turned back around, she was blushing and still panting. But she put her hands on Jasper’s shoulders and shoved a bit.

“C’mon, you clod, lay back.”

She obeyed with a little groan, her grin not leaving her face, and Peridot straddled her hips right at the edge of the bed. Peridot hooked her fingers under Jasper’s sports bra and lifted, tugging it up high enough to reveal her breasts with a light stripe of skin across one of them, her nipples already pert. They settled a bit apart and Peridot leaned in to press her thumb against one of her nipples, kneading the soft skin of Jasper’s breast as her lips closed over the other nipple.

Jasper arched her back with a breathy sound, wanting to move already just at how it felt, at how  _ ready _ she was to be touched. She let out soft, breathy sounds as she felt Peridot’s hot tongue circling her nipple, warm fingers squeezing and kneading, sending shivers of heat through her to settle in her core and set her senses aflame. She raised her arms over her head and grabbed at the bedsheets, moaning softly and moving her hips, chest rising and falling with heavy breaths, causing Peridot to have to move some.

When Peridot released her nipple, Jasper made a little whiny sound. She could feel just how wet she was with each hip motion, her whole body thrumming with need at this point.

Peridot kissed her way down Jasper’s belly, easing off her hips and the bed as she backed up, and when she reached Jasper’s waistband she tugged at it.

“You gonna help me with this?” she asked. Jasper looked down to see her grinning and returned the grin, still panting.

“It’ll be faster ‘f I just do it,” she growled. “Back up a step.”

Peridot complied, and Jasper reached down to work her way out of her pants and boxer briefs, kicking them off to the side. She could smell her own arousal radiating from the tangle of dark hair between her legs, and the realization of just how  _ ready _ she was sent a shiver through her.

She let out a breathy moan as Peridot parted her legs and pressed a kiss to her inner thigh, anticipation leaving her quivering and eager. At the first touch of Peridot’s tongue along her slit, she groped at the bedsheets, and once she could feel Peridot’s tongue pressing between her lips she had to grip the sheets beneath her to keep from moving, every gentle touch enhanced by eagerness and anticipation.

Peridot worked her tongue against her clit and Jasper let out a breathy whine, and when she started sucking gently at the sensitive nub Jasper let out another moan.

Fingers pressed inside her and Jasper arched her back with a whined attempt at Peridot’s name, the feeling of the smaller woman’s strokes along her inner walls and gentle sucking at her clit almost dizzying after so long without being so much as  _ touched _ .

She came embarrassingly quickly, arching her back and moaning loudly as white-hot pleasure rolled through her body, her inner walls tensing around Peridot’s fingers while a splash of warm liquid wet Peridot’s chin and the blanket beneath her.

Peridot didn’t stop just yet, lips and tongue and fingers working against and inside Jasper as the heat continued to pulse from her core, the werewolf not quite coming down for several long seconds. As Peridot’s fingers kept up their stroking, pressing into just the right places with firm little motions, Jasper panted and tried to make her tongue work properly, finally managing to find the right words.

“D-don’t- don’t stop-”

Peridot gave no indication that she heard save a harder little suck at Jasper’s clit, her tongue working against it diligently.

Jasper wasn’t even completely recovered from the first before she was spiraling upwards again, Peridot’s attentions driving her mad with pulses of pleasure, her body even trembling a bit as she was pushed closer and closer to the edge. It had been  _ years _ since she’d felt anything but her own hands or a toy, and Peridot’s lips and tongue and fingers were working magic on her needy body, making her arch and pant and moan as she gripped the sheets, head thrown back in pleasure and skin covered with a sheen of sweat.

She came again, quickly, with another splash of liquid and a throaty moan that resonated in her whole body, pleasure thrumming through her for several long, glorious seconds as Peridot kept up her sucking and stroking, holding her at the peak of pleasure with attentive touches.

Jasper let out a reedy little sigh as she started to come down, panting heavily, her whole body throbbing with the last dregs of climax. Peridot withdrew her fingers and placed a kiss to Jasper’s clit before standing, straddling her hips once more, the both of them panting.

Peridot looked amazing on top of her, Jasper decided through the haze of pleasure. The smaller woman’s face was all flushed, hair mussed, a sheen of fluid still on her lips and chin. Peridot licked her lips before leaning in and pressing their lips together in a slow, sensual kiss.

She could taste herself on Peridot’s lips, and it sent a shiver through her, an immediate reminder of their-  _ activities _ \- and when Peridot pulled away, it took Jasper a moment or two to speak again.

“You… want that second one?” she asked breathlessly. Peridot shook her head.

“‘M getting tired. You feel like cuddling until we fall asleep together, like a cheesy fanfic?” Peridot gave Jasper a dumb grin and Jasper responded with a goofy grin of her own.

“This going to end up in your fanfic, too?”

“Are you kidding? They fucked after the manticore.”


	23. What Are We?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasper and Peridot pick up a new job and have a heart-to-heart on the way across the country.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry these are getting slower, i'm juggling multiple writing projects at once right now

Jasper didn’t sleep well. It wasn’t so much that she wasn’t used to sleeping with another person in the bed, but having each side with stitched-up and still-healing wounds made spooning difficult. She woke up over and over again, shifting and grunting and trying to get comfortable without waking Peridot. Her wounds were healing, yes, but they still hurt and itched with the sensation of knitting flesh.

She was woken up for good, though, to Peridot wiggling against her, repeating two words over and over again as she tried to untangle herself from Jasper and the sheets.

“Red Fangs- Red Fangs- Red Fangs-”

Jasper made a tired  _ whuh _ ? sound at first before realizing exactly what Peridot was saying.

“Th’ group Chris was talkin’ about?” She asked sleepily as she released Peridot from her grasp. She didn’t normally wake up this slowly, but she really hadn’t slept well. Peridot scrambled out of bed and to where her laptop was sitting on the little table near the door.

“Red Fangs- yeah- I remember hearing that before.”

Jasper blinked and furrowed her brow, trying to think of what it might have been.

“The vampires?” Jasper asked.

“I don’t- remember that too well-” Peridot said, embarrassed. She returned her focus to her laptop as Jasper sank onto her back with a sigh, trying to remember anything she may have heard about the group.

“I think the Vegas vamps said something like that, yeah. Invited me to their club, I think?”

“I think the wererat from the nursing home job said something about it too before you turned him into swiss cheese.”

“Peridot that was  _ terrible _ .” Jasper laughed.

“Bite me,” Peridot retorted, then paused and blushed. “Not- like-  _ actually _ -”

“That’s the one thing I  _ won’t _ do,” Jasper said with an amused but almost a little bit sad tone in her voice.

“Which sucks, honestly,” Peridot grumbled.

“I could wear those plastic vampire teeth if you’re still into it,” Jasper said with a huff of laughter in her voice.

“Jasper. No.”

Jasper laughed.

“So you seeing anything about that Red Fangs group online?”

“So far, no,” Peridot returned her attention to the laptop. “It’d be faster if I linked up, but I don’t feel like doing that without coffee.”

“Okay, okay,” Jasper groaned as she pushed herself up, still stark naked, and headed over to the complementary coffee maker. “I can take a hint.”

She could see Peridot’s smug grin from where she was standing and couldn’t help but grin a bit herself. Brat.

“There’s a chance they might not have a web presence,” Peridot said after a little while, once the smell of brewing coffee started to permeate the room. “Even in the dark web, there are things that just… don’t show up.”

“As up-front about it as Chris was, though, there’s got to be some crazy fuck out there who knows html.”

“I’m surprised you even know what html is.” Peridot did not actually sound surprised, just playful.

“I’m not as computer illiterate as you seem to think,” Jasper said as she started pouring the coffee into the two provided mugs. “How much sugar this time?”

“All.”

“Peridot.”

“ _ All. _ ”

“You’re lucky I don’t mind it black. Brat.”

“You love me,” Peridot taunted. Jasper flushed and focused very hard on making their coffee.

“That remains to be seen.”

“Mmhmm,” Peridot murmured, looking smug.

“You are a brat.”

“And you are an ass, but you don’t see me complaining.”

Jasper let out an exasperated sigh as she deposited Peridot’s coffee next to her laptop.

“Brat.”

“Ass.”

“Nerd.”

“Clod.”

“Pantsless wonder.”

“Naked Amazonian Goddess.”

“That’s not an insult, Peridot.”

“Neither is nerd.”

Jasper paused. Made a little face, eyebrows raised and the corners of her mouth pulled down. Then she nodded and raised her coffee mug to her lips.

“Fair enough.”

Jasper moved to pick up her phone with her free hand, only to have it ding with a received text.

“Oh,” she murmured, picking it up. “Sapphire.”

_ Morgan Springs in northern CA. Exsanguinations. Infant victims. No bounty. Thought it might interest you anyway. Also, congratulations. Tell Peridot she’s a lucky girl. _

Jasper blushed brightly and made a strangled noise as she read the end of the text.

“Sapphire?” Peridot asked.

“Uh, job. California. I think that’s like three days of driving from here, maybe more if we actually get decent sleep.”

“Bounty?”

“No bounty.”

“Wow, you’re actually growing a heart,” Peridot taunted.

“Someone’s sucking babies’ blood, Peridot. We’ll stop in Vegas and you can break a casino for gas money.”

“We got time to finish our coffee?”

“And get breakfast at the diner down the street. I’ll speed and make up the lost time going ninety.”

“I still can’t believe Lucille can even hit ninety.”

“She is full of surprises,” Jasper said, taking a sip of coffee.

“And weapons.”

“Yes, and weapons.”

Peridot was curled up in the passenger seat, laptop on her knees, as Jasper drove. Jasper was not  _ actually _ going ninety. She glanced over at Peridot every so often to make sure the smaller woman still had her seatbelt on, since she was a bit out of it from where she was linked into the computer and, via her phone’s hotspot, the Internet. Jasper didn’t want her laptop to slip off, but at the same time Peridot seemed like a practiced hand at not dropping electronics while zoned out.

They were outside of Ohio by the time Peridot seemed to settle back into herself, blinking owlishly.

“There’s not actually much on the dark web about the Red Fangs,” she said, frustration in her voice. “Actually, the most information I managed to track down was on a shitty website available through Google that looked like it was designed in the nineties.”

“Wait, what?” Jasper asked, looking briefly over at Peridot. “Like, regular Internet?”

“Yeah. And a Facebook page that it looks like people are liking ironically? I think? Seriously, how do you tell which ones are actual werewolves and which ones are “lol werewolves” like…”

“I don’t think the Red Fangs are just werewolves, for one. Remember the vampires?”

“Only vaguely,” Peridot mumbled. She turned red and looked away, silent for a moment or two and looking out the window. Jasper kept glancing over, almost worried a bit.

“You really don’t remember all that much?” she asked. Peridot glanced over and shook her head.

“It goes all blurry after I cashed in.”

“So that flirting with the vampire chick…” Jasper trailed off, blushing a bit.

“Yeah, don’t really remember that. I just remember thinking she was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen, which is…” she snorted and glanced over at Jasper. “Not true. Very not true.”

Jasper had to keep her eyes on the road, not wanting to look at Peridot for a few moments after that because she didn’t really  _ want _ to know what she was thinking about.

“Anyway,” Peridot said, brightening a bit and changing the subject, “You’re probably right about it being more than just werewolves. The site said something about “super-humans” and “the next generation of human evolution” and honestly it’s got this whole “Brotherhood of Mutants” vibe to it and I am  _ not _ feeling this.”

“Hm,” Jasper said thoughtfully. “So are they not counting magical humans in that? You’re technically super-human.”

“One hit and I fold like wet cardboard,” Peridot grumped.

“That’s because you’re a nerd. Vampires burn to ash in like two minutes of sunlight, and they consider themselves  _ so _ much better than humans.”

“I’d rather be a werewolf than a vampire any day, honestly,” Peridot snorted. Jasper nodded her agreement.

“At least werewolves aren’t technically immortal. We’re hardy, but we’re still mostly human.”

“Mostly human that can come back from injuries that would kill a lesser person,” Peridot murmured.

“It helps that I have an excellent nurse.” Jasper flashed Peridot a grin, and she could see the smaller woman flush red.

“Yeah, well,” she said, a smile pulling at her lips, “I’m not sure how you survived without me. Reckless clod.”

Jasper shrugged.

“At this point even  _ I’m _ not sure how I survived without you. Weeks of lying in hotel rooms wishing I’d died, maybe more.”

“You’re not allowed to die,” Peridot said. “I can’t fix dead. My cosplay sewing book didn’t cover that.”

Jasper shrugged.

“I’m doing my best.”

“Doing your best to die or doing your best not to?” Peridot asked, frowning.

Jasper sighed, quiet for a while, and shook her head.

“Don’t know right now.”

“Jasper, that’s terrifying.”

“Try living it,” Jasper growled, her jaw set. She went from bantering playfully to quiet contemplation in a few breaths, not really  _ wanting _ to think about whether she was still just trying to run herself ragged until she finally fucked up bad enough that she couldn’t recover.

There was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that she couldn’t quite place, and when she tried to focus more on it she felt the icy grip of fear in her chest.

She wasn’t sure any more. Did she  _ want _ to leave Peridot to fend for herself? God, the nerd would probably try to keep doing their job after all this, and it would get her killed-

And that was something Jasper  _ really _ didn’t want to happen.

She made a soft little  _ huh _ sound at that realization.

At the very least, she needed to stick around to make sure Peridot’s dumb ass didn’t get killed trying to be heroic.

“Anyway,” she started, clearing her throat, “Anything new on the job?”

“Mh-” Peridot turned back to her laptop. “Just that there’s been a string of infant exsanguinations. Only other things they have in common is that the windows in the rooms were open and there were no screens.”

“Could be an especially creepy vampire.”

“Doubt it. There were slits in the infants’ necks, not bite marks.”

“Why would you even try to drain babies? Christ, what’s wrong with people?”

Peridot shrugged.

“The autopsy reports have photos, but…”

“I don’t want to see them,” Jasper growled.

“Neither do I,” Peridot replied with a murmur.

It was somewhere in Missouri when Peridot looked up from her laptop again with a sigh and glanced over at Jasper. The werewolf turned her head briefly with a raised eyebrow.

“What are we?” Peridot asked. Jasper sighed. She’d been dreading this question.

“A werewolf and a fucking cute human.”

“Jasper.”

“What? You asked.”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Jasper,” Peridot said, letting out a little huff through her nose.

“You mean after we fucked,” Jasper said with another little sigh.

“Yeah.”

“I… dunno,” Jasper said, eyes still on the road. “You’re cute, and sexy, and hell in a fight. I like you. A lot.”

“So… does that mean we’re… like, together?”

“Technically we’ve been together for over a month now.”

“Jasper. Be serious.”

Jasper sighed and looked over at Peridot, pain and weariness in her eyes, suddenly looking so much older.

“I’d be a terrible girlfriend. You don’t want me.”

“You are an insecure clod. I’ve been trapped in a tin can with you for well over a month now and I haven’t torn my hair out yet. I think I can handle it.”

Jasper fell silent and sighed.

“Do you… want it to happen again?” she asked after a long silence.

“What, you mean sex?”

“Yeah.”

Peridot looked at Jasper almost like she couldn’t believe she’d even asked that question.

“Are you kidding me? I haven’t known anyone that attentive in my life.”

“Is that all, though?”

“What?” Peridot asked, confused. “Of course not? I like you. Like, like-you like you. You’re a grumpy ass, but you also care more than you let on, and try to do the right thing, and even though you can be selfish, you’re a lot more charitable than you seem to think.”

Jasper flushed and tightened her grip on the steering wheel, hoping that Peridot didn’t notice.

“And also you’re hot as fuck and I would gladly eat you out any day of the week.”

Jasper made a strangled noise at that and glanced over at Peridot, eyes wide and expression torn.

“ _ Seriously? _ ”

Peridot snorted and started laughing.

“And you make some pretty amazing faces.”

“ _ Seriously?! _ ”

“Now’s the time where you say something nice about me,” Peridot said.

Jasper looked over at her, trying to frown, the side of her mouth twitching a bit as she fought valiantly against the smile trying to work across her face.

“I like your energy,” she said after a moment.

Peridot looked ecstatic for a few brief moments before she seemed to realize that Jasper wasn’t talking any more, and her expression fell.

“That’s it?”

Jasper couldn’t fight the smile any more and laughed a bit.

“Fucking nerd, I swear. Aside from getting information faster than I ever could, you’re adorable, and that hero complex you have might get you killed one day, but it’s certainly endearing.”

Peridot was practically  _ beaming _ by the time Jasper finished. She could see it even out of the corner of her eye while she was driving. When Jasper glanced over to look properly, she couldn’t help but grin a bit.

“Merry Christmas,” she said with laughter in her voice.


	24. What Is It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Research is done and tacos are had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I've hit a rough spot in my mental health, but I'm soldiering on and still trying to do things like write and draw! Updates are going to be slower now since work has become incredibly busy, but I'm still writing! I haven't disappeared!
> 
> Also this has turned into a four-part arc as well. I'm not sure why or how. This was supposed to be a short, easy episode, but the girls had other plans I guess.
> 
> Love you guys!! >w<

“Agent Austen, this is my partner Agent Stark. Has the body been taken to the morgue yet?”

There had been another exsanguination before they got to California. In fact, just before, to the point where the crime scene was still swarming with officers. A serial murderer tended to draw crowds of cops, after all. Especially when the victims were infants.

“Yeah, they begged for an autopsy,” the young-looking officer at the door said, looking almost dead inside.

“Thank fuck, I didn’t want to see that,” Peridot said with a sigh.

“You and me both,” the officer said, shaking his head. “It’s not pretty. The parents, too, they’re… distraught. We’ve taken them to the station to get their statements because they didn’t want to be in the house their son died in. I tell you, these are getting…” he shook his head. “Seeing this many dead kids gets to a guy, you know?”

Jasper nodded, her jaw set. She didn’t want to see the body either.

“Same M.O. as all the others?” she asked, trying to remain professional.

“Yeah, guy opened the window, popped out the screen, and drained ‘em dry, just like all the others. You ever seen a baby without any blood? Those chubby cheeks ain’t so rosy any more-”

“That’ll be enough,” Jasper grunted. “Is the crime scene clear?”

“Yeah, though we’ve scoured it. Clean, just like every other. Nothing to see. Nothing to go on. This sick fuck’s good, for a given value of good… you need me to take you to it?”

Jasper shook her head.

“Just follow the feeling of despair.”

The cops were milling around the house and the exterior to keep reporters and lookie-loos out, but the crime scene just had a single officer posted at the door and one outside the window. Jasper nodded slightly as she flashed her badge and stepped inside, taking a deep breath of the air inside the room. She started pacing around a bit, running her fingers through her hair and almost growling.

“Nothing?” Peridot said. She paused before taking a deep breath and adding to it. “So you’re serious about us not being a… thing?”

“Not the time, Peridot. And it’s hard to tell with the window open. Lots of cops, baby, shit, the family pet-”

“Pet?” Peridot asked. She moved to the doorway and looked out, asked the guard at the door. “Did they have any pets?”

“Not that I know of,” the officer said.

“Huh,” Peridot murmured, then returned to Jasper. “You hear that? No pets. So what are you smelling? And why don’t you think we’d be good together? We’re a great team already.”

“Some type of bird,” Jasper rubbed the back of her neck with a longsuffering sigh. “I don’t have much experience with birds, so I couldn’t tell you what  _ kind _ of bird, but it smells like feathers. And I told you already, I’m not girlfriend material.”

Peridot gave a little  _ huh _ and circled around the crib, stopping at the window and bending a little to look out of it, squinting as she looked at the single tree in the space between houses. She nodded at the officer outside of the window before moving closer to Jasper.

“You are absolutely girlfriend material, to me. Think a bird did it?”

“Peridot, that’s ridiculous.”

“The girlfriend material or the bird?”

“Both.”

“Like, a magic bird. Someone who can turn into a bird. Something like that. And what if we just did it, like, on a trial basis?”

“Maybe. Who knows. Maybe this is really just some mundane creep…”

“Is that to my offer or my idea? And how many times has weird shit just been some mundane creep?” Peridot asked, crossing her arms and cocking her hip to one side.

“It happens,” Jasper said. She looked around the room like the pastel trappings would tell her something, anything, about what had transpired, using that concentration to completely ignore Peridot’s other idea as she crouched to look under the crib like there would be answers there. “Granted, it happens like once in a blue moon, but it happens.”

“I’m being serious, Jasper, I think we’d be a good pair. Not just fighting nasties, but genuinely… together.”

Jasper stood with a groan and rested her hand heavily on Peridot’s head.

“You don’t want me. I’m a trainwreck. Better at fighting things that go bump in the night and all. These hands have too much blood on them by now.”

“I remember those hands being damn good at other things,” Peridot said, her arms still crossed, not even flinching at the weight of Jasper’s hand on her head. Jasper flushed and looked away.

“Doesn’t mean we can’t fuck.”

“No strings attached physical relationship?” Peridot asked.

“Friends with benefits,” Jasper grunted.

“Aww, you consider me a friend!” Peridot chirped.

“Ha. Seriously, though, you don’t want me. I’ll give you all the pleasure you ask for, but fuck if I’m going to ask you to deal with this sad sack of shit.”

“What if I wanted to?”

“Then there’s more wrong with you than I originally thought,” Jasper grumped, heading out the door to end the conversation as quickly as she could.

Back at the motel, they were both crouched over laptops, looking through page after page of information, an almost uneasy silence between them.

“Technically,” Jasper started, “There are two species of birds that drink blood.”

“Oxpecker and that one in the Galapagos, right?” Peridot asked.

“Yeah. But I don’t think they’d be regularly draining the blood of infants.”

“Yeah, no, as interesting as they are, they aren’t our culprit,” Peridot murmured.

“I mean, even vampire bats-”

“Bats are mammals, Jasper.”

“I’m aware,” Jasper grumped.

“And you’re a were,” Peridot snorted. Jasper looked up at her blankly before her expression turned into one of understanding and the pressing desire  _ not _ to laugh. “I’m sorry! You walked into that one!”

Jasper deflated a little and shook her head, a rueful grin on her face at Peridot’s dumb joke.

“As I was saying, even vampire bats don’t drain that much. A baby has a good… like… three cups of blood in its body, depending on its weight.”

“It’s creepy that you know that.”

“I googled it, nerd. I’m not a repository of creepy facts.” Jasper said, the grin still on her face. “So even blood-drinking animals that already exist aren’t going to be taking enough to completely drain a baby every few days. We’re definitely looking at something supernatural.”

“What if it’s a baby vampire,” Peridot said.

“Like a new vampire or a vampire that’s a baby? Or a vampire that only drinks from babies?”

“I don’t know, I was just throwing out ideas.”

“I don’t know how it’d be able to get in through the window.”

“Some vampires fly, right?” Peridot asked. “There’s mythology like that. Turn into bats, or just straight up take off. A baby one of those… well, I don’t think vampirism really changes a baby’s development so it’d still be… hmm.”

“Vampires don’t have feathers,” Jasper said after a moment, laughter in her voice. “So we’re looking for a bird that drinks blood. Maybe a really, really big finch.”

“Something tells me people would notice a giant bird flying around,” Peridot said with a laugh of her own.

“I dunno, people can be pretty stubborn sometimes about ignoring the weird stuff,” Jasper said, shrugging.

“Yeah, I… hm.” Peridot squinted at the screen and frowned a bit. “Hm. I might… huh.”

“In English, please.”

“Bird. Uh, Strix, actually. Remember what I said about a giant bird? I might’ve been right.”

Peridot turned her laptop to where Jasper could see it; on the screen was an artist’s depiction of a large owl with a long beak and tongue, hovering over a baby’s crib.

“You’re kidding me.”

“No, apparently it’s an old… Greek? Roman? The Romans stole everything from the Greeks anyway. One of those mythologies.”

“Huh,” Jasper said as she scanned over what she could see of the page. “So an animal.”

“Yeah, not some kind of super creepy human, at least.” Peridot turned the laptop to face herself again. “Think it might’ve escaped from some rich dude’s collection like the unicorn?”

Jasper shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter, it’s killed people, it’s gotta die. Does it say anything about how to kill it?”

“Mh,” Peridot squinted at the screen. “Nothing specific, but it also doesn’t say anything in particular about being invulnerable, so…”

“So we slice its head off. Got it.”

“I was hoping for set it on fire, personally,” Peridot said. “You think you can track it?”

“Peridot,” Jasper said flatly, “The damn thing can fly. I can’t track something that can fly unless the scent is strong, and that one was already faint.”

Peridot groaned.

“Okay, I’ll… check the dark web for anything about Strix...es? No, wait, Latin, so… Striges?”

“You know Latin?”

“Took it in high school because it seemed more interesting than French. As it turns out, dead languages are about as interesting as most dead things.”

“Good for exorcisms, though.”

“Ooh, can we do an exorcism next?” Peridot asked, beaming. Jasper blinked slowly at her, just staring her down for a moment.

“...sure, what the Hell. The next exorcism that comes up, we can take it. It’s easier with two people anyhow.”

Peridot gave a little  _ yes! _ and grinned before returning her attention briefly to the laptop, but after a breath she looked back up at Jasper.

“Hey, while I’m doing this, you wanna get us some food? I think I saw a taco truck not far from here…”

Jasper paused and raised a finger like she was going to protest being ordered to get food, but then sighed and stood up.

“Yeah, sure. How many?”

Jasper returned, with the requested food in a paper bag, to see Peridot sitting smugly in her chair with her laptop closed and her phone in front of her.

“I take it you found something?” she asked as she set the bag on top of Peridot’s laptop. Peridot moved the bag to the side of the table and opened it to grab her food.

“Yeah, remember what I said about it escaping from some rich dude’s collection? There’s some guy on dark web forums talking about how his pet Strix keeps getting out of its cage. Smart bird, I’ll give it that.”

“Huh,” Jasper said thoughtfully, settling down on the other chair and reaching for the bag to grab a taco for herself. “So we find this guy’s house and take out the bird.”

“Just kill some guy’s pet,” Peridot murmured around a mouthful of taco.

“It’s been killing infants, Peridot.”

“Oh, I know, no doubt. Once it’s got the taste for human blood and all. We gonna have to convince this guy that his precious Strix is killing babies?”

“I was thinking more like sneaking into his house and lopping its head off.”

“Jasper, you don’t sneak.”

“I can sneak.”

“You really can’t. You’re like eight feet tall. You can’t hide for shit.”

Jasper settled back into her chair with a grumble and returned her attention to the tacos. Before long, Jasper found herself reaching into the bag at the same time as Peridot, the both of them freezing almost in sync at the realization that there was only one taco left.

“You ate like three,” Peridot said, squinting.

“I’m bigger than you! I need more fuel!” Jasper sounded almost offended.

“I’ve only had two! It should be an even split!”

“But you’re tiny! I need to keep up my bulk so I can fight things that are trying to kick your squishy ass-”

“You’re one to talk about a squishy ass! Do you have any idea how you look in jeans, Jasper? Christ!”

“Is that a fat joke?”

“What? No! That’s a “you have a marvelous ass” joke!” Peridot turned bright red.

“Compliments will not win you the taco.”

“What about cunnilingus?”

“What.”

“Did I stutter?”

“Are you offering oral for a taco?”

“...yes.”

“Man, and I thought my standards were low,” Jasper said, laughter in her voice bubbling over as she teased Peridot.

“So do we have a deal?”

Jasper removed her hand from the bag and leaned back in her chair, still laughing in little huffy breaths.

“Sure. What the Hell. Taco’s yours. Other taco’s also yours.”

“Did you just call your-”

“Yes.”


	25. What the Fuck?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting to the monster seemed easy enough...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY LOOK I'M NOT DEAD! :D You have ohshitsomeonejust on tumblr to thank for this chapter!! if you want to guarantee more of this fic (or any of my fics really) hmu on tumblr and we can have a Discussion
> 
> i'm real fuckin sorry this took so long ksdghjsdgsd hopefully it'll be back in the rotation of Shit Im Working On now but //big shrug

“This the place?” Jasper asked, looking up at the opulent house of someone who clearly had more money than sense. She leaned against the front bumper of Lucille as Peridot double-checked the information on her phone.

“Yeah, Raymond Desmond Tear the Third, Esquire. Smart enough to use the dark web, not smart enough to use a VPN.”

“A what-- wait, no, I don’t want to know,” Jasper said with a wave of her hand. “Doubt I’ll understand your nerd spiral anyhow; don’t waste your time.”

Peridot rolled her eyes.

“Of course. Remind me again why we aren’t feds for this guy?”

“Most people who dabble in the paranormal either  _ are _ feds or have a healthy dislike for ‘em. We don’t need this idiot thinking we’re here to take his shit; we’re paraornithological behavior analysts here to figure out why and how his strix keeps getting out.”

“Pretty sure that’s more syllables than I’ve heard you speak all week,” Peridot said with a snort, leaning against the bumper alongside Jasper, who gave her a playful shove at that comment, grinning nonetheless.

“Not the first time I’ve played an egghead, and it won’t be the last. You make up enough smart-sounding words and they don’t ask questions.”

She flashed a lopsided grin at Peridot, who giggled and flushed and looked away.

They were both in the black slacks and white button-ups of their fed disguises, but their coats were missing and they’d swapped out their usual ties for bowties. Jasper had even put on a pair of fake glasses, and she acted like she didn’t see the little glances Peridot was sending her way despite the flush of heat they sent right to her cheeks.

Their disguises meant that Jasper had to forgo any weapons, but Peridot was at least able to slip her vial of mercury into her pocket. Though, really, Jasper mused, anything metal in range could be a weapon to Peridot, and she  _ herself _ was one as well, in a way.

Jasper straightened her bowtie before ringing the doorbell. It jangled inside, the sound of Westminster Chimes clamorous to her sensitive ears. She flinched a little and grunted.

“You okay?” Peridot asked, tilting her head to one side. Jasper sighed and nodded.

“You know how some tones fuck with dogs? Works with werewolves too.”

Peridot snorted and laughed out loud at that, and Jasper found herself flushing and scratching her nose with a frown.

“You really are just a big ol’ dog, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“Giant puppy. Maximum doggo. The Biggest Boof.”

“If you ever want me to fuck you again--”

“No dog jokes?”

“No god damn dog jokes.”

“Fair enough,” Peridot said with a shrug. She looked like she was about to speak again when the door opened a few inches to reveal a white man in a black suit, who looked them both up and down with apprehension.

“Mister Tear is not expecting visitors today. What are your intentions?”

Peridot and Jasper looked at each other briefly before Jasper spoke.

“We’re uh, here to see about Mister Tear’s escaping pet problem,” she said, her voice low, like someone else could be listening in from anywhere nearby. The man at the door raised an eyebrow, briefly, before giving a curt nod.

“Very well. I’ll go make sure the master of the house wishes to see… unexpected visitors.”

And then the door shut in their faces. Jasper leaned back a bit and frowned, brow furrowing, almost stunned into silence. Peridot, however, seemed to have no trouble speaking her mind.

“Rude?” she said, wrinkling her nose.

Jasper sighed and nodded.

“Very. Let’s hope Ray is a bit more welcoming.”

As they waited, Jasper allowed herself a few moments to take in the area. The house was surrounded by hedge animals, the branches masterfully cut into the shapes of various mythological -- or not so mythological, as Jasper knew -- creatures. Here a rearing pegasus, there a chimera with mouths open in a roar. There was a three-headed dog statue on the fountain in the middle of the circle drive, and Jasper found herself fervently hoping that this rich asshole didn’t actually  _ own _ Cerberus, guardian of Hades. But she wouldn’t put it past a rich white guy to capture -- or, most likely, buy -- and keep an important mythological figure.

When the door opened again, this time all the way, they were indeed greeted by the rich white guy Jasper had been expecting, wearing khaki slacks and a pale blue polo. He held out a hand to shake, which Jasper took and squeeze harder than necessary as he introduced himself.

“Ray Tear,” he said, cringing a little at Jasper’s firm grip and flexing his hand once Jasper released him so that he could shake Peridot’s hand.

“I’m Doctor Sophie Spencer; this is my colleague, Doctor Tara Hardison.” Jasper indicated Peridot as she, too, shook the man’s hand.

“I’m afraid you may have the wrong place after all, Doctor. There’s no sick here.”

“Ph.D., not M.D.,” Jasper said, giving him a sparkling, toothy grin. “We’re paraornithological behavior analysts; we saw your post online and wanted to see if we could help.”

The man’s nose crinkled up and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“I never even posted my name, how could you--”

“Nothing is ever  _ really _ secret on the Internet, Mister Tear,” Peridot said, flashing a smug grin. “Just take us to see your strix’s enclosure, and we’ll see what we can do to help.”

Raymond sort of- listed to the side, just barely, and for a moment Jasper got the impression that the man was not the sharpest crayon in the shed. She sighed.

“Mister Tear, we have reason to believe your strix is feeding from human infants, and we want to stop it.”

“I can’t pay you or anything,” the man said after a moment, and Jasper had to grit her teeth and bite her tongue -- and she moved to grab Peridot’s arm, as well, in the split second it took for her to realize that Peridot was stepping forward and about to go off on this rich idiot. As much as Jasper wished she could grind his stupid rich face into the concrete, they were here to  _ help _ , not  _ harm _ , and as far as she could tell, being stupid and stingy was not illegal. Just annoying as shit.

“Uh, give us a second,” Jasper grunted, pulling Peridot off to the side and lowering her voice so Raymond couldn’t hear her. “Listen, we need this dumbass to take us to the bird. You can clean his accounts out after we’ve stopped the damn strix from draining babies.”

“Fuck cleaning out his accounts, I’m setting him up for tax fraud,” Peridot grumped, crossing her arms. Jasper snorted and had to cover her laughter with a cough and turn away for a moment to hide her grin.

“You  _ brat, _ ” she said, not an ounce of irritation in her voice. Peridot winked at her and grinned; Jasper couldn’t help the pleased little flush that crossed her face.

Jasper turned back to Raymond, having to consciously keep from crossing her arms and Looming.

“We’ll do it for free. We were passing through the area anyhow, and wanted to see what we could do to help.”

Raymond looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded and beckoned them inside.

“Sure, then. Menagerie’s this way--”

Jasper and Peridot followed Raymond down a hallway, where he counted a series of decorative wall sconces and pulled on the fourth one down. A section of wall slid in and away, revealing a staircase illuminated by fluorescent lights that flickered on one by one as they followed him down.

After a few steps, Jasper sneaked a look behind her at Peridot, who was still gaping in awe at the wall they’d come through. She grinned a little at Peridot’s excitement and returned her attention to Raymond, realizing he’d started talking while she’d been distracted.

“--had this sunk into the ground beneath the foundation. This is a historic house, and I couldn’t bear to tear it down and rebuild, so I had to grease a few palms to get the resources it took to go under. It was a pain, but worth it -- my treasures are secret and secure like this.”

Jasper found herself only half-listening to the man prattle on, completely disinterested in his explanation of how rich he was and how many “exotic” pets he kept beneath his expensive house, and- really, it was all a bit ridiculous.

Her attention was immediately diverted when the stairs ended, opening up into a room that Jasper could hardly call a  _ basement _ , with a high ceiling and cage after golden cage stretching from wall to wall -- and it was  _ huge _ . She’d even venture to say it was bigger than the house itself.

Inside the cages were habitats; Jasper could see a chupacabra lazing in the middle of a square of scrubland, a peryton in a lush temperate forest--

But after looking around, she felt her heart drop to her feet. Yes, there were creatures -- but some of them, she recognized as… different. More. A sphinx paced angrily in a desert, tail lashing and low growls emanating from its chest. A tiny red dragon curled into a tiny knot under an overhanging rock. A harpy perched on a gnarled tree, expression grim and sparse plumage ruffled.

_ Sapient _ creatures, with human-like intelligence or better. Both sphinx and dragon should be able to maintain a human disguise, even. And here they were -- locked up like animals, on display for one rich man and those he deemed worthy.

The deluge of smells, too, was dizzying. Some she recognized; others she could only guess at. She had to start breathing through her mouth to keep from drowning in all the scents.

Peridot came up behind her, and Jasper could hear the awe and reverence in her voice when she spoke.

“It’s… it’s a zoo. An entire zoo.”

“Zoos are for the rabble,” Raymond said, resting his hands on his hips. “This is a  _ menagerie _ . This is  _ mine _ .”

Jasper’s lip curled up in disgust and she struggled to conceal it, to look at least  _ interested _ instead of sickened.

Peridot didn’t know. She didn’t know that some of this fucker’s pets were  _ people _ \--

“Vera is this way,” Raymond said, beckoning the two of them between two cages and down a row. Jasper followed, her skin crawling, glaring daggers at Raymond’s back.

They came up to what Jasper thought was the center, to an enclosure easily two, three times the size of any of the others. The trees in the cage were twisted and vine-covered, but beautifully green and healthy, the forest floor criscrossed with roots and plants. She could hear running water from inside the tangle of leaves and branches.

Raymond opened a door near the corner and whistled. There was silence, for a moment, and then a flurry of activity, fluttering wings and energetic hooting, and a dark-colored form swooped out of the woods towards him.

He held out one of his arms, perpendicular to his body, and the bird -- the strix -- hooked its claws around it, apparently without its talons sinking into the skin, and settled upside-down on it, hanging and hooting.

It did look like an owl, with tufted “ears” and great round eyes and a head that swiveled too far in either direction, but its hooked beak was too long and it was far too large to be any natural breed of owl -- it was almost three feet tall, and Jasper found herself wondering, briefly, how strong Raymond would have to be to support that kind of weight -- though, birds did have hollow bones…

“This is Vera,” Raymond said, entranced, a softness in his voice that Jasper hadn’t heard since he’d met them at the door. “She was my first, the start of my collection. A gift from my father when I was a boy. Have you ever seen anything this beautiful?”

Jasper grunted, a neutral sound that she hoped wouldn’t offend him. She watched as Peridot crept closer, but grabbed her arm as soon as she was close enough.

“She’s lovely,” Jasper bit out. “But we’re here to figure out how she’s escaping. May we?” She indicated the door. Raymond looked up, then nodded, stepping aside to give them both room to get into the cage.

Once they were far enough inside the enclosure that Raymond couldn’t hear them, Jasper looked around to make sure that they were alone, then lowered her voice.

“I fucking hate this guy,” she growled. Peridot seemed -- surprised, maybe confused? The light was low beneath the canopy, and Jasper wasn’t entirely sure of the nuances in her expression.

“Why? ‘Cuz he’s rich? I mean, yeah, eat the rich and all, but--”

“No. Because I’ve seen at least four sapient creatures since we’ve walked in. Sapient.  _ People _ . He’s keeping fucking  _ people _ as pets.”

“Oh, shit,” Peridot uttered. “Eat the fucking rich.”

“Damn straight,” Jasper growled. Her skin was still crawling at the thought of what those “pets” had to be going through -- that someone would strip them of their very  _ humanity _ just because they didn’t  _ look _ human…

She shook her head and sighed. They’d have to- do something about them, right? They couldn’t just leave them--

Fuck. Peridot was turning her sentimental.

“Hey, check this out--” Peridot called; Jasper was briefly confused until she realized that Peridot must have continued on while she was musing. She headed in the direction Peridot’s voice had come from and broke out of the trees to see her kneeling next to the wall of bars that made up the back of the cage.

“I see you found the wall,” Jasper intoned, unimpressed.

“No shit,” Peridot matched Jasper’s tone, then rolled her eyes. “I meant  _ this _ .” She stood and smacked her hand into the space between the bars and leet out a pained sound; around her hand, a wave of light rippled out across the rest of the wall, fading as it got further and further away, until is disappeared completely. Peridot withdrew her hand and shuddered.

Jasper looked at the wall again and blinked.

“So… I’m guessing the bars are for show, then,” she said, crossing her arms.

“Yup,” Peridot murmured as she looked up towards the ceiling, pointing at the yellow lines glowing between the bars. “It’s a bio-field. A real high-tech one, too -- keeps anything organic from crossing through.”

Jasper kept looking at the lines and chewed her lower lip.

“So… keeps anything livin’ either our or in, huh?” Something- didn’t sit right with her about this. It felt off and left a bad taste in her mouth.

“Yeah. These things are fuckin’ impenetrable,” she said, turning at little at the hips as if a slightly different angle would shed some light on the situation. After a few moments, she returned her gaze to Jasper. “There’s no way Vera should have-- aw, hell.”

Jasper started a little; Peridot was looking at something behind her.

She heard the distinctive  _ click _ of a hammer being cocked and whirled, her heart leaping into her throat, to see Raymond Desmond Tear the Third, Esquire, leveling a handgun right at her.

“‘Aw, hell’ is right,  _ Doctor _ Hardison.”


	26. What Happened?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A tense encounter goes tits-up and Peridot makes judicious use of Google.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay AS A WARNING and stuff, this chapter takes the Gore And Violence And Hurt/Comfort to another level, I think, so if you've got some issues with slightly-more-detailed medical stuff, tread carefully. It also has drug use, but its painkillers used for exactly what they're meant to be used for, so not really... abuse? but just in case and all. also i play fast and loose with medical science and dont suggest you try any of these methods unless you're trying to save the life of a werewolf who can recover from most medical fuckups
> 
> You have @chozophilosopher on tumblr/NighttimePhilosopher on AO3 to thank for this chapter coming out quickly! She also has a message for you: "I love Mal!" (for anyone wondering, Mal is my tiny kitten bb and there are pictures on my tumblr if you want to see a tiny ball or orange fluff)
> 
> If you, too, want your name on a chapter and a message for everyone to read, check me out on tumblr at @malafight and we can discuss things! ;3c

Jasper raised her hands level with her head, slowly, and a quick glance verified that Peridot was doing the same. She could already feel the itch of her Wolf pushing itself to the surface, her pulse quickening to a fever pace. She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice to a growl through gritted teeth.

“I take it your bird getting out wasn’t an accident after all.”

Ray gestured with the gun as he shrugged.

“Perceptive of you. She’s old, and sick, and lamb’s blood wasn’t enough any more. The vet said she’d die without human blood, and-” He shook his head, his voice actually quivering a bit. “I can’t lose her, too.”

“Stupid of you to bring attention to it online,” Jasper ventured, trying to figure out a way out of their current precarious situation.

Raymond’s reply was three shots in quick succession, the report stinging Jasper’s ears barely an instant before impact, immediate pressure and biting heat as all three shots connected.

Thigh, left. Recoil pushed the muzzle upwards and to the side: chest, right. Higher, then: shoulder, right again.

Pain lanced through her and she stumbled backwards, going down like so many bricks as her leg crumpled beneath her.

Peridot’s scream pierced through the growing haze of red. Movement, hands on her arm, frightened breathing--

“Plausible deniability.” Raymond’s voice was the last actual words she could make out before her Wolf’s snarling drowned out anything more than tones.

Peridot’s voice: frightened, high-pitched, wheedling. The low, arrogant sounds of the man with the gun, commanding. Peridot backed away.

Jasper gave herself over, and the red closed in.,

The hulking, rusty wolf rose shakily to her feet, streaming blood. Snarling. She liked the surprise on the human male’s face. Liked the scent of fear.

An unsteady, limping step forward. The male stepped back, shaking. She licked her muzzle. Blood on her tongue. Pain all over.

His fault.

He’d pay.

Her leap forward was weak, barely-coordinated, but then he was on the ground. Beneath her. Still shaking. The acrid tang of urine -- he’d pissed himself.

She snarled again. Her breaths came hard and wheezing. Blood dripped off her tongue, between her teeth. Specks of red showed on blue.

Too much pain to play. Just one bite. Just one, and it would be over, but--

A keening cry. Impact on her side. Lances of pain. She stumbled. Feathers -- a bird. A beak, talons, ripping into her flesh--

She let out a pathetic squeal and turned, snapped. Teeth clicked together, closed on air.

The report of the gun. Once. Twice. She flinched. No pain. No  _ new _ pain. Claws hooked into her and clung. A beak savaged her back, her side--

She couldn’t roll. Couldn’t show her belly. She whirled, snapped, snarled, whined- stumbled--

A tree--

She turned- summoned her strength--

Impact. A  _ crunch _ . She stumbled away. The bird hung from her side, fluttering weakly. She collapsed to the ground, breathing labored. Pained. Strength ebbed from her body.

There was silence. No more gunfire. No more yelling.

The male was on the ground. Bleeding. Unmoving. His head lay nearby.

The bird had stopped moving. No tension in its body. Just talons limp in her flesh.

A sound. Movement. The small female approached. Familiar? Vaguely. Frightened.

She struggled to her feet. Snarled weakly. The bird hung dead from her side.

The human paused. Stepped forward again.

She snapped her jaws and whined out a warning. Blood dripped to the ground --  _ pat pat pat _ , too quickly, too much. She was dizzy. Weak. Vulnerable.

Another pathetic snarl. What little fur not covered in blood stood on end. She limped forward. Snapped her teeth. The human kept coming.

She would not die without a fight.

Shaky legs carried her forward. Bloodied teeth glinted. She growled, snarled, whined, desperate. Terrified. But  _ determined _ .

Fear showed on the human’s face. Movement.

Something closed over her muzzle. Hard. Wet. Gleaming silver. It circled her nose, her mouth, forcing it closed, choking her out. She turned, shook her head. It didn’t move.

Labored breaths turned to desperate gasps. She couldn’t breathe. She was dying, dying, dying. Her vision grew fuzzy. Dizziness clouded her mind. And  _ fear _ .

She was dying.

Her legs gave out. She hit the ground. Pain. Then, dark.

Jasper woke up choking, gasping for breath, a great pressure in her chest. She sat up and immediately regretted it as the forest around her swam in a blur of green and brown.

Everything hurt. Her mouth felt full of blood, tongue thick and coated with gunk. It was hard to breathe, and each desperate gasp for air sent a lance of pain through her chest, a wheezing whistle as it felt like her chest and throat were being crushed.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus her mind. Breathe. Slow, careful, pained and labored, but in, and out, and in again.

Sorting out her mind and memories was a slow process, like searching for a marble submerged in chest-deep, freezing yogurt. She’d been shot. Wolfed out. Ray and Vera were both dead. And Peridot--

Her breathing hitched and her eyes flew open. Where was Peridot--

She finally saw Peridot curled up, leaning against a nearby tree, fast asleep. Jasper let out a long, wheezing breath. Thank fuck. If she’d attacked Peridot…

She licked her lips. She didn’t want to think about that.

Her first attempt at speaking was a croak. Then a whistling wheeze. It took her a few tries to even force out any words.

“Peri--” Her voice was low, barely audible, and she tried again. “Peridot--”

Peridot jerked awake. Jasper could see dark circles of exhaustion and worry beneath her eyes.

She flashed Peridot a weak, bloody grin.

“Not dead,” she croaked. Peridot scrambled over to her.

“Not dead! Thank fuck, I was so worried- you were gasping real bad for a while there- fuck--”

Peridot clapped a hand on either side of Jasper’s face and drew her into a rough kiss. Mercifully, she pulled away after a moment or two; Jasper wasn’t sure she’d have been able to take another breathless second without passing back out.

“Don’t! Do that again!!” Peridot barked.

“You- mean--” Words were difficult to force out, still.

“Shut up! I think you took a bullet to one of your lungs!”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh. Don’t get fucking shot again.”

“Like- I have- control- of that--” she wheezed.

“What did I say?” Peridot snapped, then caught herself and added, “Rhetorical question! No talking! I can’t get you back to the van if you’re passed out.”

“What- h--”

“Hush, clod. Ray’s dead, the strix too. Once you were more stable, I went around and let out anyone who could talk. Dunno what to do about the rest…”

“Sapphire,” Jasper rasped. Her contact would be able to arrange something.

“Jasper. Talking. Stop.”

“Sorry.”

Peridot sighed and deflated in on herself. After a moment, though, she gave a tired grin and dug into her pocket, pulling something out and holding her hand towards Jasper.

“Check this out, though.” Nestled in Peridot’s palm were two bullets, perfectly formed, and without casings. “Look at these two. Fucking look.” She pointed gleefully at the still-intact slugs. “I fucking Neo’d this shit. I can  _ stop bullets, _ Jasper! I’m fucking awesome!”

Jasper grinned and laughed, but then found her body wracked by painful, wet coughs. Peridot’s expression went from glee to worry in an instant.

“Shit, fuck, sorry. Can you stand? We need to get back to the hotel so I can get you patched up. You look like hell.”

Jasper blinked and looked down at herself. Every thread of her white shirt was red, and her clothes were sticky with blood, still wet from her still-slowly-seeping wounds. She also wasn’t sure what had happened to her costume glasses, but that wasn’t really a pressing matter, just an observation absently made and filed away.

She gritted her teeth and started pushing herself to her feet, slow and laborious, in short, pained motions.

As soon as she put weight on her left leg, it buckled, but Peridot was under her arm in an instant, catching her with a surprised grunt and struggling to hold her up.

“Easy, easy, hot stuff. I think I can get you to the van like this, if you can limp. Assuming the butler doesn’t try to stop us… Though, really, if the flood of magical creatures didn’t get his attention, I don’t think we will, either…”

Jasper laughed again, but it set off another bout of coughing. Peridot patted her arm roughly.

“Hey. No laughing. This is not a laughing matter.”

So Jasper snorted instead.

“Don’t sass me. Let’s go.”

The trip up the stairs and to the van was slow and painful; Jasper had to have Peridot stop a few times so that she could rest and catch her breath as it grew harder and harder on her, and by the time they made it outside, the sun had set and the waxing moon hung bright in the sky.

Peridot helped Jasper into the passenger seat and took off. Jasper wasn’t sure what, exactly, Peridot spent the whole trip talking about -- the pain and breathing trouble had her mind fuzzy and far away -- but Peridot’s tone was pleasant and the constant buzz of her one-sided conversation was comforting. Her thoughts were consumed with sorting out the tangle of what had happened, trying to assess the damage done to her body.

Everything hurt. This was not a new experience. Her skin was raw, barely-healing gashes pulling apart from each other with each breath. Breathing was agony, like her chest was being crushed by a giant hand, like she was drowning alive, slowly, getting just enough air to keep drawing shallow, nearly-useless breaths. Her shoulder was throbbing and aching with the Wrongness of the bullet still lodged in there and working its way out. Her leg didn’t have that; it had probably gone through and through. She couldn’t tell with the one in her chest; it hurt far too badly to be able to pick up on individual details.

But she was alive. And alive meant she would heal.

She glanced over at Peridot, still chunnering on, and a pang of guilt lanced through her. She’d almost attacked her. It wasn’t safe for Peridot to be close to her, for her to be in danger like that. They’d been lucky, this time, but next time -- who’s to say? This job would never be  _ safe _ , and she couldn’t guarantee Peridot would be out of harm’s way…  _ especially _ when her own Wolf couldn’t be dissuaded from attacking her when under stress.

The jerk of the van stopping in front of their motel room had her breath catch in her throat, and it took several desperate, gasping breaths to even come close to returning to what little air she’d been getting before. She could feel fuzziness crowding in on her vision again and the only thing she could think to do was hold her hand out, grab Peridot’s arm.

“Somethin’s- wrong--” she wheezed, the van spinning around her. She should be starting to breathe better than when she’d first gotten shot, but--

“Wh-what--?” Peridot asked, voice trembling with worry. “Were the bullets silver--”

Jasper considered, head spinning, and shook her head in short, slow motions. The other bullet wounds had the itch of healing, she just… couldn’t  _ breathe _ still.

“N-no--” She gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, trying to breathe again. She hadn’t been as worried about it before, but it should have been showing signs of healing by now, and-- “Can’t- breathe--” she wheezed, her voice strained. “Crushing--”

Peridot made a distressed sound and looked between Jasper and the door of their room.

“Can you- make it inside--”

Jasper head swam, but she was still able to think well enough to gauge if she could make it-

“Just- hurry--”

Getting into the room was a haze of pain and desperation, but mercifully, she made it to one of the beds before darkness closed in again.

She awoke with a gasp to a shock of pain between her ribs, her eyes flying open in an instant as she took a great, deep breath, her lungs flooded with desperately-needed air. The only thing she could do for a few long seconds was take breath after long, grateful breath and stare up at the stained motel-room ceiling.

Once she could breathe properly, she realized how much the movement hurt, and she struggled to sit up some and investigate.

Sticking out between her ribs was her own knife, twisted and tilted, with Peridot still holding it in place. Peridot’s face was even paler than usual, her breaths coming rapid and tears on her cheeks.

“Y-you stabbed me!” Jasper wheezed. Talking hurt, but she could  _ breathe _ now--

“You were dying! I panicked!”

“Your instinct was to  _ stab me?! _ ”

Peridot started and frowned in indignation, still not releasing the knife in Jasper’s chest.

“WebMD said it was probably a tension pneumothorax! I didn’t have time to get the first aid kit!”

“You stabbed me because  _ WebMD told you to?! _ ”

“N-no, it was a YouTube video on treating--”

“How am I still alive.”

“I stabbed you!”

Jasper paused. Blinked. Then laughed, chest rising and falling in rapid, painful motions. Peridot did a good job of keeping the knife in place through it.

“And you’re still holding it because…”

“Air is leaking into your chest cavity every time you breathe because the bullet put a hole in your lung. I think. So I need to keep this open and cocked like this so it can escape…”

“Wait… you stabbed me on an ‘I think?’”

Peridot looked away, frowning, face red.

“Well if it didn’t save you, it wouldn’t have made you  _ deader! _ ”

Jasper was quiet for another wheezy breath, then laughed again.

“Fair enough.”

She gave Peridot a tired grin, and Peridot deflated in a whooshing, relieved sigh.

“I’m just glad it worked,” she murmured.

Jasper tilted her head a little.

“Me, too. Thanks. What would I do without you?”

“Empirically speaking, die.” Peridot’s expression was blank, her delivery deadpan.

“I--” Jasper paused, her mouth open and one finger in the air like she was about to start a lengthy retort, then just dropped her hand and closed her mouth with a sigh. “...you’re not wrong.”

Peridot’s blank expression turned into a toothy grin.

“Glad you let me tag along, yet?”

“You really gonna ask me that still holding a knife in my chest?”

“Oh, right-- I’m gonna need you to keep this right here while I go find some scrap metal to make a straw.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

Peridot indicated the knife with a nod of her head.

“The knife. You need a way for the air to get out until the hole in your lung heals. So, unless you want to go to an actual hospital and try to explain how you’re gonna sleep off major chest trauma…”

Jasper raised her hand and wrapped it around Peridot’s, holding the knife steady. Peridot flushed and looked away with a little frown.

“Got it,” Jasper grunted, giving a curt half-nod. “Do what you need to.”

Peridot sighed and relinquished the knife to Jasper.

“I’ll be back. Sit tight.”

And then she was gone. Jasper watched as the motel room door slammed shut behind her. She sighed. Closed her eyes. Everything hurt.

Yet again, she was still alive -- because of Peridot. Because of the heroic idiot she was supposed to be protecting. And she was  _ relieved. _ She was  _ grateful. _

She thought she would welcome death. She’d spent so long chasing it with reckless abandon. And now, after coming so dangerously close to actually catching it… was she happy to have  _ failed? _

The thought made her shudder and shake her head. Of course she was. Someone had to make sure Peridot didn’t get in over her head. Sure, Peridot was turning out to be handy in a fight, in an investigation… but she was still so  _ naive. _ Idealistic. Acting like it was their duty, their  _ calling, _ to help people.

Jasper hadn’t exactly gotten into this line of work for  _ heroics. _

And yet, here they were, doing charity cases. Investigating mysteries like they were one stoner away from Scooby-fucking-Doo. And it was  _ fun. _

The realization had her eyebrows raising nearly to her hairline. Injuries aside, she was  _ enjoying _ this supernatural vigilante shit with Peridot.

Peridot herself had a lot to do with it, didn’t she? Her dumb ass hero complex was rubbing off on Jasper. It felt  _ good _ to help people with no other options, and for no reward.

It was all ridiculous.

A deep sigh brought her attention back to the pain and the god damn  _ knife _ sticking out of her chest. Right. The only thing, presently, keeping her from suffocating in her own skin. She took a breath and heard the  _ whoosh _ of air through the hole. This was new. Not getting shot -- fuck, she got shot every few months, really. But finding something that she wouldn’t have healed through.

Shit- there could be more that she hadn’t considered--

The panic that gripped her was interrupted by Peridot slamming back into the room, bag hanging from her shoulder.

“Okay, I looked up a few more things we can do, but since you’re gonna be healing way faster than normal humans, I think I’m gonna have to fuck around with some stuff. Also, I’ll need to get the bullets out, and that might mean going through some healed tissue--”

Jasper blinked dumbly as Peridot spoke, watching her dump the bag on the bed next to her and start rummaging through it, still talking.

“You want some of the pain meds? Some of this is probably gonna hurt like a bitch and we don’t have anything that I can use as an anaesthetic. I know you can handle me sewing you up, but this is like, major surgery shit, and you already look like hell--”

A long breath in and the ensuing spike in pain made Jasper’s decision for her and she nodded. Peridot passed a few over and Jasper swallowed them dry without even counting how many pills she’d downed.

“Showoff,” Peridot muttered, but Jasper could see the little smile on her face, and she- rather liked it. She was glad Peridot could stay  _ herself _ in times like these. Fuck, she was glad Peridot had taken so readily to the gorey, medical side of things. It was nice, having someone to patch her up. Lord knows she needed it enough.

“Let me know when those start to kick in,” Peridot said. She moved to the dresser nearby and started setting things out, within reach of where Jasper was sitting on the bed.

“You gonna be okay doing this?” Jasper croaked. Peridot turned a bit and shrugged, looking completely unperturbed.

“I used to write House/Wilson fic, and I already found a video on YouTube of a guy doing this on a pig. I’ve got this.”

“No, I mean, it’s… probably gonna be a little more gross than sewing me up.”

Peridot looked back over at her, then raised an eyebrow and flashed Jasper a smug grin.

“Please, I’ve been on the Internet since I could read. I’ve seen fetish art that would kill a lesser man. I can handle myself.”

Jasper let out an amused snort at that, then winced as she felt the knife bite into her just a bit more. Peridot turned back to the dresser, still working, and Jasper’s face twisted up at the sharp, stinging smell of alcohol. She was probably sterilizing everything…

It didn’t take too much longer for the foggy haze of a strong opioid pain reliever to fall like a blanket over her mind and body, making her yawn and sigh. She hated the fog, hated how it deadened her senses and her reaction time, made her feel like she was hovering just outside of her body.

But she had to admit…. It was a welcome distance from the mass of pain that was her current state of being.

“Mmn… it kicked in,” Jasper grunted. “Thank fuck.”

“Usually you’re so much more stoic about pain,” Peridot taunted.

“Don’t usually have major organ damage,” purred Jasper, her mood elevated just enough to make her almost a little playful despite being covered in blood and injuries.

“Gonna need that shirt out of the way,” Peridot said as she turned around, snipping a pair of scissors in the air. “Can’t pull it over your head, so ‘m gonna cut it off.”

“Buy me dinner first,” snorted Jasper.

“Jasper, we have  _ literally _ fucked already.” A pause. “I’ll buy you dinner once you’re not inches from death.”

Jasper let Peridot move her arms and torso as needed to snip the blood-soaked fabric from her body. She gave a little groan as it peeled free of sticky skin and healing gashes, then sighed in relief once the cool air hit her skin.

Peridot snipped and peeled her bra, too, and Jasper gave her a cocky grin.

“You just wanna see my tits.”

“Yes. Blood-covered boobs really get me going,” Peridot murmured.

“Knew it. That’s why you’re so good ‘bout sewing me up. You like seein’ me beat to hell. Kinky.”

Peridot turned red at that and looked away for a brief moment. Jasper watched her step away and wet a washcloth, and then she was back and wiping blood from Jasper’s skin. Jasper giggled and shifted some.

“Tickles.”

“Stay still! I need to be able to see where this is goin’ in--”

“That’s what she said.”

“Holy shit, are you  _ twelve?! _ ”

“Title of your sex tape.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“It’s Jasper.”

“You keep this up and I’m taking the knife out. Let you suffocate ‘til you pass back out.”

“Kinky.”

Peridot finished washing her up, and she could see a little grin on Peridot’s face as she stood to go back to her collection of supplies on the dresser. When Peridot turned back around, she had what looked like a metal tube in her hand, as well as a roll of tape and- what Jasper thought was a few pieces of plastic? It was hard to tell.

“Alright, this is probably gonna hurt like hell.”

“Got shot three times already.”

“Yes, which is why we’re doing this in the first place. Raise your arm some, I need better access to your ribs so I can get this right.”

Jasper complied without anything smart to say about it, mostly because she just couldn’t come up with anything good enough in her current state.

She felt Peridot’s fingers working on her side, on and between ribs, and she shivered, this touch sending a tingle straight to her crotch instead of tickling.

“Next time you do this, can you wear a sexy nurse costume?”

“I should be filming this.” Peridot’s touch wiggled between two of Jasper’s ribs. “Okay, on three. One--” And there was a shock of pain as Peridot plunged the metal tube deep into the side of Jasper’s chest.

She jerked and let out a curse.

“You said three--!!”

“I lied. Hold still.”

Jasper couldn’t quite tell what Peridot was doing any more, but there was tape and something smooth and cool against her skin, and she shuddered. Peridot’s fingers just felt so damn  _ good _ moving against her all confident like that--

“You can put your arm down now,” Peridot said. Jasper complied. “Okay, I’m gonna take the knife out. You should be fine.”

Jasper blinked and looked down at where she was still holding the knife against her. Then she pulled it out and offered it to Peridot, who scrambled to grab the sullied washcloth and press it to the now-sluggishly-bleeding wound.

“Jesus fuck, Jasper--”

“Done.”

“Fucking- I didn’t mean  _ immediately-- _ fuck, okay, hold this here. Put pressure on it.”

Jasper obeyed with a dumb grin on her face. She’s helping!

Peridot returned again with her sewing supplies and a tube of what Jasper thought was super glue.

“Alright, move your hand.”

Jasper did so, and in a flash, Peridot was sewing up the knife hole with quick, tight loops and tugging it closed. She wiped it clean, and then the glue went over the suture, heavily, covering every part of the wound. Jasper watched in awe, blushing at just how fucking  _ hot _ Peridot was, concentrating like this--

Peridot sighed as she cut the extra fishing line.

“Okay. Time to get the bullet out. You better stay still, I’m gonna be doing this blind--”

“Just yank it out. Fuck me up. I can take it!”

“You do  _ not _ need another hole in your chest!”

“It’ll heal. I’m fuckin’ invincible.”

“You just almost died because of a hole in your chest.”

“Yeah but I didn’t.”

“I’m going to knock you out, I swear to god--”

“Hot.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“I told you, it’s Jasper.”

“At this point I can’t tell if you’re being a smartass or if you’re just high.”

“Yes.”

Peridot sighed and pressed a finger against Jasper’s forehead.

“Lie back.”

“Are you gonna ravish me?”

“I swear to god, Jasper. I just need you to be completely still so I can get the bullets out.”

Jasper rolled her eyes and obeyed, leaning back with a groan until she was on her back.

“I c’n smell ya, Peri. You’re gettin’ all hot ‘n bothered fixin’ me up.”

“No, Jasper, I’m just getting bothered.”

“Lies.”

“Shut up, I need to concentrate.”

The bullet moving in her chest didn’t  _ hurt _ as Peridot worked it out through its original path with her metal powers, but Jasper did find herself suddenly acutely aware of how it felt moving inside her, and despite the still-present pain of all of her other injuries, she moved her hips, some, shifting and not even bothering to ignore the way the  _ incredibly weird _ sensation was somehow arousing.

The bullet squeezed its way out of its entry hole and she moaned shamelessly.

“You should not be turned on by that.”

“Title of your sex tape.”

Peridot sighed heavily as she started sewing up the hole.

“Do you have any idea how embarrassed you’re gonna be when you’re sober again.”

“Bite me. Ooh, actually, please bite me--”

“I did not take you for the type to be high as tits and horny.”

“I am full of surprises. And bullets.”

“And lust, apparently.”

“Yes.”

“I’m just yanking the one in your shoulder out.”

“Go for it.”

With the chest hole sewn and glued shut, Peridot visibly relaxed, and the bullet in Jasper’s shoulder got dragged out with a quick movement and a yelp on Jasper’s part.

“Fuck--”

“Hush. Think you can handle me sewing everything else up without coming?”

“No guarantees. Think you can do it naked and straddlin’ me?”

“No.”

“I’m injured. Pity me.”

“Oh, I pity you.” Peridot snorted. She was grinning, though, and Jasper gave her a lopsided, goofy grin of her own.

Jasper pushed herself back up, and Peridot went back to work. Each prick of the needle going into her skin made Jasper want to arch and moan, until she had had enough and couldn’t hold back any more. The breathy moan that rolled from her chest must have surprised Peridot, because she jumped and yanked the fishing line faster than usual.

“Jasper!” Peridot’s voice was high and squeaky in her surprise.

“Mnh?” Jasper asked with a pleased, breathy sound.

“You horny  _ fuck. _ ”

“Yes. Please.”

“No. Try not to move too much when you get off, I’m close to finishing here, but if you tear any of it out--”

“Sounds good.”

“You’d better not be talking about ripping your stitches, you kinky fuck.”

“You’re no fun.”

“And you’re covered in blood and moaning about it.”

“I don’t see the problem here.”

Peridot sighed.

The last of the sewing had Jasper still gasping and moaning softly, flushed and arching and so close to pinning Peridot down and fucking her until her cuts pulled back open that she couldn’t fucking  _ stand _ it--

When Peridot circled back around in front of her, Jasper dragged her into a desperate, breathless kiss, pulling her closer and trying to get her to straddle her hips--

Only for Peridot to pull away and thump her on the forehead with a frown.

“No. I can’t even start to list the number of reasons why this is not happening right now. Lie your bloody ass down and go to sleep.”

Jasper gave a pathetic whine.

“But--”

“But nothing, you’re off your tits on Oxy right now and the only thing between you and suffocation is a metal straw. Sleep. We can clean up and fuck tomorrow.”

“But I wanna fuck  _ now. _ ”

“Yup, got that. Not happening.”

“But…”

“Jasper.” Peridot rested one hand on each of Jasper’s cheeks and looked her in the eyes, expression deadly serious. “I am not risking hurting you even more than you already are.”

“But I like it--”

“And you are one kinky fucker, but we’re not having sex while you’re like this.”

At Peridot’s refusal, her denial, every ounce of good mood Jasper had dried up in an instant. It was like she was suffocating all over again, and she sobbed without even realizing it at first.

Was it her? Fuck-- it  _ was _ her. She was too forward. Peridot didn’t want her; of  _ course _ Peridot didn’t want her- who would want a broken, useless, waste of air like her--

She didn’t deserve the breath Peridot had returned to her. She’d hurt people,  _ killed _ people- fuck- did Peridot think she was trying to  _ force _ her to--

Fuck-- when they’d fucked before, was it really- what if Peridot just thought she had no other choice--

The pressure of a warm kiss on her forehead pulled her muzzy thoughts back to her and she gave another painful, heaving sob.

“Wh- what’d I- d-do wrong--”

Peridot wiped tears off of Jasper’s cheeks, worry on her face.

“Nothing, you clod. You move too much and everything will open again. And you’re high. It’d be like fucking a blackout drunk. You can’t consent, stupid.”

“I don’t care--”

“But I do!” Peridot snapped. Jasper flinched and looked away, but Peridot pulled her back so that they were eye-to-eye again. “Listen, Jasper… just sleep. We can cuddle, and you can be the little spoon, and we can have sex in the morning when you can actually enjoy it, okay?”

Jasper paused and blinked her eyes clear again before nodding, slowly, and leaning her head into Peridot’s touch with a sigh.


End file.
